PLTM: A RWBY Story
by BelowAverageJoe
Summary: A legendary Huntress' daughter, a hero's star pupil, a cloaked justice seeker, and a girl with a dream...and a secret. Platina Steel, Lukas Augite, Tiffany Myrtle, and May Vermillion of Team PLTM from Haven Academy each have their own dreams and ways to achieve them. Can they stop one of Anima's most cold-blooded criminals, Coal Augite, or are they in way over their heads?
1. Platina Steel

Platina was walking through the woods of deep natural brown and green; the likes of the wind causing her short, navy blue hair with electric blue tips to flow behind her. She stood at 5'3 and had rich lavender eyes, and she wore a gray and steel blue field jacket, a light blue skirt with traces of silver, gray leggings, and a pair of light blue boots. She approached a cliffside from the trees and peered down. It was as if fate caused her to stumble upon the small village. It was Kuchinashi, south of Mistral; her old home.

Platina found herself wandering through the streets almost by accident. She reminisced about the markets she passed that she and her old friends would shop at on Saturday evenings in the summers of her childhood. She glided by the park with the fountain she used to throw lien coins into and make wishes. As if something more than just her own two feet were guiding her, she came across her old house. It had a small front yard with a lone palmate maple tree - just like she remembered. Platina slowly walked up the steps and hesitantly opened the door. The nostalgic smell of her mom's candles immediately filled her nose; mixtures of sweet caramel and various flowers that smelled of innocence. She saw her dad sipping his coffee while reading a news article on his scroll. She saw herself, just a little three-year-old, playing with dolls made of cloth just like any other normal little girl does. The environment released a calming aura that created a feeling of serenity for Platina.

Platina put on a faint, warm smile and took a step towards her mother. Suddenly, she stopped. Something didn't feel quite right to her. Everything was starting to turn hazy, and soon a gripping darkness sketched its way into her vision like the ink from a pen. The ground caved in from beneath her, and the blackness seemed to restrain her body. She reached out to her mother as all of her happy memories dissipated.

Darkness. Complete, total darkness. It was the only thing that Platina could see. At first, the silence created an unbearable void of nothing, but it soon became clear she wasn't alone. She knew the distinct growling of an Ursa by heart. It created something much worse than silence. It created a fear in her heart that forced her to keep her eyes open. She soon found the beading red eyes of a killer staring at her. She could feel them penetrating her eyes and into her heart and soul. She was frozen in sheer terror.

She unsheathed her weapon and hopelessly slashed one of her two kusarigama at the menacing, blood red eyes. She felt no contact. The small shotgun-scythes passed through like it was nothing. She felt the cold hands of panick grip the back of her head and her arms. She wrestled away from the invisible threat and turned tail to run. She ran faster and harder than she ever had in her entire life through the binding darkness, but she grew increasingly aware that she wasn't getting anywhere. The Ursa started to draw near and Platina could feel the fear and panic take over her mind. She could no longer think straight. The beast completely overtook her. She could only see one thing, clear as day; her seven-year-old self, crying. The only thing she could hear; her mother's scream.

Platina jumped awake, panting and sweating all over. The TV was still on from when she had dozed off; giving the 'Are you still watching?' notification. She sat up, still shaking from the nightmare that has haunted her since her childhood. She looked around just to assure herself that she wasn't still dreaming. Same old house, same old living room, same old furniture and decorations.

"You had that nightmare again, didn't you?" A deep, scratchy voice called out to her from behind.

Platina turned to face August Steel, her adoptive father, pouring some concoction into his glass in the kitchen. Even through the shadows, Platina could tell that it was alcohol. Nearly any time of day you saw August he probably had bourbon or something in one of his hands.

"Hey, kid."

"August? What are you doing here so early? It's…" she glanced at the clock, "one in the morning, oh." Great, she must have missed out on two or three hours of her show. Time to start over.

"I was fired." He said as he pushed back his graying, black hair. "Apparently getting into a fistfight with a customer is 'unorthodox' and 'completely crossing the line.'"

"I bet you got your ass kicked, right?" She giggled as she glanced at the large red bump on his unshaven face.

"Wow, it's almost like you can read my mind." He said sarcastically as he flopped on to the couch next to her and let out an exasperated sigh; holding a bag of ice to his face.

Platina mimicked his sighed, "I guess this means we're out of the house then?" She asked in a low tone. August breathed out a laugh and smiled.

"Well, I know for sure one of us is." He handed her an envelope. She tore it open to take a look inside. "It's a letter from Haven Academy, and I already know you passed because you are one of the most skilled fighters I've ever seen.

 _"Platina A. Steel_

 _225 Forest Lane_

 _Windpath, Anima_

 _Dear Miss Platina Steel,_

 _Congratulations! We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted into our prestigious academy. Your personal and academic accomplishments you have achieved in your school community are exactly what we look for and value in the next generation of heroes. For 80 years, we have trained some of the best Huntsman and Huntresses out there, and we believe you can be among the best as well! We will eagerly await your arrival to our fine institution._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Lionheart."_

Platina began to fill up with pure joy and excitement. Her mind was racing and she put on a smile that she didn't think would fade for ages. Platina gave out a cheerful yell and jumped up and down and nearly crushed August with a hug.

"I'm going to Haven! I'm going to Haven! I'm going to be a Huntress!" She declared ecstatically. "I have to go pack!" She exclaimed and bolted up the stairs to her room faster than the human eye could see.

* * *

Platina was on the open loading door of the transport ship. She gripped her backpack and turned around; scanning the crowd of family members that came to wave the other students goodbye in order to find August. Among the crowd of faceless adults, she saw the tired but nonetheless smiling August looking in her direction. She waved goodbye to her friend and father figure who took care of her for over seven years, and he gave a soft wave back. A little tear found its way into her eye. She turned around and marched onto the airship.

The inside was chock-full of people; each with their own unique weapon and style, and they all seemed to already be in designated groups. As the door shut behind Platina, she searched for someone who was just as lonely looking as she was sure that she was. Nobody in the sea of people seemed even a little bit approachable to her, and she breathed a sigh of defeat as she gave up on finding a group of her own before she even began. She looked out the window to see the amazing view. There were trees for miles around her old school, the town she had been living at was visible off in the distance, and the steep, wind-carved cliffs could be seen a long way away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please prepare for takeoff." The announcer said over the loudspeaker. A great roar of the engines gently lifted the ship upwards, and the people below slowly became little dots that could barely be seen. Finally, the aircraft began to move forwards towards Haven Academy.

"It's a great view, isn't it?" Platina was surprised to hear somebody talking to her already.

She glanced to her right. There was a girl leaning on the same railing as her. She was around the same height as Platina and had long, messy pink hair. She wore a black jacket with two gold strips running down the sleeves, white denim shorts with a red flower symbol on the right side of them, a brown belt, and black knee-high boots.

"I'm new to Anima. They don't have anything like this in Vale." The girl said as she turned to Platina; revealing a pair of sparkling amber eyes.

"Yeah, it is. I-I'm Platina." She reached out her hand, smiling awkwardly. "You can just call me Tina if you want."

"May," she side-fived Platina's hand while flashing a confident smile. "Vermillion." The two of them turned around and started to wander around the airship.

"Soooo, you said you were from Vale? Why'd you move over here?" Platina asked as she crossed her arms over her head. May started to think for a bit.

"My mom graduated from Haven." She answered, her amber eyes slowly being filled with awe. "Back in her prime, she was practically legendary at the school. I want to be just like her," she stopped and locked eyes with Platina, "but even better. I want to surpass her in every way, Tina."

"You're pretty outgoing, aren't you?" Tina giggled in her semi-childish voice. "Well, if we're sharing ambitions already, I want to be the world's greatest Huntress." She looked down and smiled, "I know it's a long shot, but it's what I wanted for a while now, and with all those 'Be a Hero' posters they have around I figured Haven would be the perfect place, ya know?"

"Oooooh, I like it." May said. "'World's greatest', huh? That means you'll have to get better than me," She added with a smirk, "think you can do it?"

"Who's to say I'm not already better?" Platina laughed.

"Tell you what; when we get the chance, when we are at Haven and we find the time, we'll fight. Whoever wins is the stronger one, and whoever loses has to promise to get stronger." May smiled and reached into her bag. She pulled out two grape sodas and handed one to Tina.

"To rivals," May said as she held up her can.

Platina smiled, "To friends," and knocked her can against May's.

"What? No way, I think we'd work well as rivals. Like in the 'main character of a show and their polar opposite' kinda way." May contested as she cracked open her soda. Platina looked at her with a little doubt in her eyes. "C'mon! We totally contrast each other! Red and blue?" She added.

Platina gave a little chuckle, "Okay, you barely have any red on you."

"Oh, well, let's not forget about my sweetheart." May reached behind her bag and pulled out a red and black shotgun, "Meet Amber Storm; my trusty side-kick!" She pressed a button and it turned into a giant four-bladed battle axe that was taller than she was. She planted it into the floor after spinning it twice.

"Woah!" Tina stared, wonderstruck, "That's so cool! It must have cost you a fortune!"

"No, students at Signal Academy make their own weapons. My dad is a blacksmith, so he helped a lot on it. It was hard to decide, but I wanted something that was like my mom's, so it worked out." May explained. "Where did you get yours?"

Platina took out one of her two shotgun-kusarigama blades and looked down at it sentimentally.

"My foster dad gave this to me when I told him I wanted to be a Huntress. He said that he won it in a poker match. Its original name was 'Wisteria Eclipse' and it was silver and purple, but since it was mine we renamed it 'Platinum Eclipse' and repainted it." She answered.

The gray and azure handle always felt perfect in Platina's hand, and the two silver blades never let her down in a fight. After she put it back in its sheath, a hologram turned on at multiple points in the area, and everyone's attention turned toward a young man with an eagles beak. He was about 6'2 and had brown scholarly hair and yellow eyes. He wore a traditional white haori jacket over a black kosode undergarment and had black hakama trousers and traditional sandals. Even without context, you could tell he was someone important.

"Hello, my name is Hawk Valenzuela. I'm a professor at Haven Academy." His voice was incredibly wise sounding for how young he looked. "You have all been selecting to attend this academy because you are some of the best fighters we've received applications from. You are the next generation of heroes that will continue to protect the peace our world has, and avenge it if needed. The other professors and I put much trust in each and every one of you. We will be arriving at Haven in thirty minutes. Until then, I wish you all good luck." After the short speech, his image flickered away.

Platina looked at May, "You ready to be a Huntress?"


	2. Haven Academy

A blast of chilly air swept through the entrance of the airship and a wave of blinding sunlight slowly revealed the outside world as the ship's door creaked opened. Platina and May stepped off the massive airship that had brought them to Haven Academy. They were dropped off on a small concrete area with a large fountain, which was immediately followed by a long, narrow avenue which led up to the school's main plaza. Streetlights lined the sides of the boulevard, and on them were deep orange banners bearing Haven's national symbol. The area surrounding the courtyard was a spacious grass field dressed in rows of sakura trees.

Platina and May both took a long breath and a loud exhale; relieved to have some fresh air after that long trip.

"Finally, we're here!" Tina exclaimed, hardly able to contain the amount of excitement and happiness that was buzzing inside of her.

"This place is huge!" May exclaimed. She had the widest smile Tina had ever seen. "This is like, thrice the size of Signal!"

"Thrice?" Platina giggled.

"It's a real term, look it up!" May declared as she pointed a finger at Platina's face.

Lost in conversation, May didn't even see the person who ran into her until they collided. The both of them fell to the ground in a slow, almost dramatic fashion and landed on their butts. May held her head for a short second, then she looked up to see the person that bumped into her. It was a girl who was taller than her; maybe 5'7. She had long white hair with a green streak on her right side. She wore a green denim jacket with a large symbol on the back; a white circle of flowers, and black lines down the sleeves. Combined with a white scarf, black short shorts, green and black leg armor, and black combat boots, the girl has a solid and unique color palette that worked well together. She dropped her weapon, which looked like a sniper rifle, and holstered at her side was a standard looking pistol. The girl also dropped her suitcase; spilling small cylinders of what May assumed had to be dust cartridges.

"I'm sorry!" May scrambled to stand up and reached out a hand to help the girl. The girl looked up at May, revealing a cute and shy face with a pair of soft emerald eyes that matched her green streak of hair. She stared at May for a second, then averted her gaze and took May's hand.

"N-no…it was my fault, I-I should have been paying better attention to where I was going..." The girl stuttered as she was pulled up. She was blushing and noticeably trying to avoid eye contact.

Tina and May bent down to help the girl pick up her dust cartridges. They gathered them all up and fit them into the holes made for them in her case. When they were finished the girl shut her case and stood up.

"Thank you!" She said as she beamed a smile to Platina.

"Woah! Your weapon is awesome!" The girl became flustered as she turned to see May examining her weapon. It was a green and black sniper rifle that had a silver revolver chamber instead of a traditional clip. May's eyes were filled with almost the same shimmer as when she was talking about her mom.

"I love seeing new weapons; it's the only thing I like more than meeting new people. My name's M-" She was cut off when the girl practically ripped the rifle from May's hands.

"I-I'm sorry," she began to stammer again, "I left something on the airship, I-I have to go." The girl sprinted off in the opposite direction, leaving the other two to themselves. May and Platina exchanged similar looks of concern.

"Weeeell…she was…" Tina started, smiling awkwardly.

"Incredibly socially awkward?" May finished her thought; slouching slightly. "Well, it's a good thing we extroverts can make friends super easily." May smiled as she thought of every introvert that she pretty much adopted from being lonely forever. She wondered if Platina was one of those people.

"Maybe the next time we see her, we can make a new friend." She turned to Platina and gave a malicious smile, "By force if we have to."

Platina giggled, "That's if she doesn't disappear the second we talk to her."

 _"Oh, god, did that sound harsh?"_ The blood suddenly drained from Platina's face as she realized she just said something without thinking.

"Speaking of disappearing," May said as she adjusted the strap of her bag, "I want to sightsee the town. I'll see you later!" She cheered as she turned around and waved Platina goodbye.

"W-wait!" Platina screamed after her, stopping May dead in her tracks.

"Huh?"

"There's gonna be some kind of briefing soon, you know? We should go to it, so we're not lost tomorrow." She tried to convince May to stay by her side.

May sighed as she walked back up to her, "Listen, Tina," she put a hand on Platina's shoulder, "you and I are different from each other. I can tell that you worry a lot. I've never seen this place before, and in all honesty, I don't think I want to spend my first day here not enjoying it."

May was different from everyone else Platina has ever met. Nobody has ever had such vigorous energetic, yet at the same time been so laid-back.

"I'll be back." She finished, turned, and ran in the opposite direction of the school.

Platina started to protest, but May was already gone. Tina just stood there for a while wondering what to do next. She thought back to her childhood and how she was never really that great at making friends. Her old school was so small that she doubted anyone she knew from there made it to Haven since the acceptance rate was so low. Most of these people here were probably from big schools like Sanctum Academy, like May was from Signal.

She was beginning to feel hopeless. _"What if I end up friendless?"_ She began to question. Tina remembered what it felt like to be lonely; it was one of the worst feelings she thought a human being could experience. To not have someone to lean on when she was struggling, or to not have a person to share what was on her mind. Because of that, she made a habit of talking to herself.

"What am I going to do?" She asked herself.

She hung her head. She had a sinking feeling in her heart that she knew very well. It was a mixed feeling of complete dread and total isolation from the outside world; like she couldn't feel anything other than her emotions. She was on the verge of tearing up.

 _"No, you have to stay positive,"_ Platina attempted to shake all of her negative thoughts out of her head, _"like Reese would."_ She thought back to her friend from school, Reese Chloris. She was like May in some ways, being a people person and all that. She was pretty easy-going, and whenever things got bad she never stressed out too much or made things a big deal. Even after she discovered Platina's secret...

 _"Okay, no more dwelling on the past."_ Tina bawled her fist, straightened out her back, and held her head high. _"These next few years are going to be different. This time I'll bring the challenge to life!"_

She turned towards Haven Academy; the place she always dreamed of going, and although she still felt terrified about going to a school without any of her original friends, she reminisced on the words of Reese and August about having more confidence in herself. She knew that if she doesn't walk into the building now then all her hard work, pain, and tears will have been for nothing. She closed her eyes, took a long, deep breath, and began to march towards her dream.


	3. Haven Academy: Part 2

Any semblance of hope that Platina had was stamped out when she tripped on her bootlace and faceplanted into the cold, hard concrete ground. After laying there for a while, feeling sorry for herself once again, she got to her hands and knees to get back up.

"Woah, you okay?" Tina heard someone with a familiar voice say. She lifted her head and saw a hand extended out to her. Looking past that, Platina found a girl that was taller than her and had wild, mint hair that stood up and was swept to the right. Below each of her green eyes, she had a black marking. She wore a dark purple hoodie over a mauve sweater, black shorts, black boots, and black knee and elbow pads. In her hands was a black and blue hoverboard.

"Reese?!" Platina exclaimed, pulling herself up using her old friend's hand.

"It has been way too long since we last talked, Tina." Reese said with her usual warm smile.

"I had no idea you got accepted into Haven, why didn't you tell me?" Platina whined.

Reese shrugged, "I thought I'd surprise you." She gave a short chuckle and scratched the back of her head. "I mean like, it was so obvious you would be accepted; being top of the sparring class and all." She put an arm around Platina and snickered, "Too bad there weren't any 'how-not-to-be-socially-awkward' classes."

Platina started to get red in the face and pushed Reese off.

"Shut up, you jerk!" She demanded, but no matter how mad she wanted to be, Platina couldn't keep herself from smiling. "God, I'm just glad you're here. I was afraid I wasn't going to have any friends!"

"Platina, that's ridiculous. You're nice and caring and selfless; who wouldn't want to be your friend? Besides, you're also shy, cute, and short." She winked at Platina after counting the reasons on her fingers, "Instant guy friends!" Tina socked Reese in the shoulder for that.

"Come on, I'm serious! Guys are crazy about those things in girls!" Reese pressed on.

Platina was starting to blush again, "I'm not looking for any type of relationship right now, Reese. I just want to get through the classes and not be the popular girl. You know I don't do well in social situations." She finished as she hugged her arm at her side.

"Tina, how are you supposed to be the world's greatest Huntress without being popular?" Reese asked.

Platina just sighed at the question. "Yeah, I know. I know that I need to break out of my shell. I'm just...afraid that I'll get close to some people and then...well, you know."

"Just remember that you can't do it alone." Reese put a hand on Tina's shoulder, "You'll need friends that you can trust. Just know that if you decide to run again, I'm running with you. We're in this together."

Reese's words relieved Platina of some of the weight on her shoulders.

"In any case, we should get to the briefing. Probably don't want to miss that." She finished.

 _"Not everyone would agree with you on that."_ Platina thought to herself.

The two began to walk toward the entrance of the building. They passed under a huge torii gateway, then they stopped at an open area with a large stage set up at the center. There was a sea of roughly a hundred people all crowded around the stage; where two men overlooked the wave of new students. The first was the bird Faunus that had appeared as a hologram on the transport ship, Hawk Valenzuela. The second was the Headmaster of the academy, Professor Lionheart; a tan old man with a wild beard, a lion's tail, and slicked back, graying dark-hazel hair.

"Woah, look; it's Professor Lionheart!" Platina quietly exclaimed to Reese; her eyes wonder-filled.

"Yeah...it sure is..." Reese replied.

"Aren't you excited? He's the coolest!" Tina swooned over him.

Professor Lionheart tapped on the microphone and it soon became silent, then he cleared his throat and began his speech.

"Hello. All of you have undoubtedly worked so very hard to get here, and I assure you that your effort will not be wasted so long as you continue to put effort into everything you do. I imagine that one of two things brought you here. A search for knowledge, or a search for power. Both are equally important to a Huntsman or Huntress, but keep in mind that only one of those things can be truly abused. The students here have a duty to uphold the peace and defend the weak, and while you will do that here; it is important to continue to do so when your time here expires. It is up to you to make that choice."

Platina was, for a reason she couldn't exactly figure out, a little dismayed by the speech. Professor Lionheart wasn't quite like she had imagined him. There was a somewhat cold vibe coming from him; not entirely like the hero that she envisioned. After Professor Lionheart stepped off and started making his way back to the academy, Professor Valenzuela took the Headmaster's place.

"Everyone will be spending tonight in the tamokutekishitsu, or 'multipurpose room'. After breakfast in the morning, the team selection process will take place. You are dismissed."

Reese and Platina shared a looked that told each other they were both underwhelmed as everyone started heading towards the school entrance.

"That was a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be." Reese said with a sigh as she laid her board down. It began hovering just inches above the ground with a soft whir. She stepped up onto it and leaned slightly forward so that she was traveling at walking speed with Tina.

"Can you remind me again why you always ride that stupid thing instead of just walking for a change?" Platina smiled and shook her head at the answer she already knew was coming.

"Walking's too much effort."

* * *

The multipurpose room was much larger than the one at Reese and Platina's old school. It was able to fit all of the 100 new attendees to the academy. Platina was laying on the blue sleeping bag she brought and reading her favorite book, _A Man With Two Souls_. She was wearing white pajama pants that had an electric blue stripe down each leg and an electric blue tank top that had her symbol; a navy blue circle with a dot in the middle and a crest cut out of it, wrapped around her left side. Suddenly and without warning, Reese flopped down next to her.

"So, who do you think is the most boyfriend material?" She teased.

"W-what?" Tina was caught off guard by the question.

"Well, there's the tall one over there..." She said, pointing across the room to a tan boy with long brown hair, "or there's the pink-haired one there..." She shifted her finger across the room. "He's a bit too scrawny for my taste though."

"I think the boys think you are weird for pointing at them from across the room." Platina replied while giving Reese her most smug grin.

Reese giggled, "Whatever, I could see you with Pinkie over there." She laid down on her own sleeping bag and began texting one of her other friends in Windpath.

"Hey, Reese," Platina turned away from her book and looked up towards the green-haired tomboy.

"Yeah?" Reese replied, not taking her eyes off of her scroll.

"Tomorrow, we have to make sure we're on a team together." Tina put a bookmark on the page she was on and sat up, leaning against the wall.

"You know it's most likely not up to us right?" Reese gave a short chuckle, "It's probably all luck based, or maybe the teachers will make the teams themselves."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…" Platina looked away when Reese glanced in her direction, "I don't know if I'll be able to make it without you on my team. I mean, me alone with three total strangers would be a nightmare."

"Quit making it sound like we're never going to see each other again. We'll still have classes together, and we can still hang out after them."

Tina turned her whole body back to Reese, "I just need at least one friend on my team, that's it."

Reese put her scroll away and gave her full attention to Platina, "Are you seriously telling me that you didn't meet anybody on the airship? Not one person came and said 'hi'?"

Platina put away her book and sighed, "Well, there was this one girl," she said as she wrapped her arms around her knees, "but she took off not long after I met her." There was a short silence between the two before Reese spoke up.

"Well? Are you gonna tell me anything about her?"

"Oh, well, uh...her name was May." Platina started. "She had pink hair and brownish eyes. She kind of reminded me of you."

"Well, there you go! If we get you, me, and May on a team then there will only be one stranger." Reese exclaimed optimistically.

"Yeah, but the odds of that happening are probably not great." Tina retorted, "I'm just nervous is all."

Across the room, there was a thud followed by a voice saying "Excuse me." Platina looked up in the direction the noises were coming from and saw the girl from earlier that she and May had run into, only she was wearing white and green pajamas.

"Hey…" Tina sat up and signaled the girl to Reese.

"You know her?" Reese asked.

"I guess? She just dropped a bunch of her dust in the yard. After May and I helped she took off; back to the ship to grab something." Platina sat and stared at the girl for a short time.

Reese grabbed Platina by the hand and pulled her up from the ground.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Reese pulled Tina by her arm across the room to meet the girl, much to Platina's dismay. She pulled and grunted to get away from her, but Reese was persistent, and before she knew it she was nearly upon the girl.

"Hi!" Reese greeted her in her most chipper voice. The girl twirled around in an almost graceful manner.

"My friend here says she knows you?" Reese continued. The girl's gaze panned over to Platina's face and she quickly recognized her.

"Oh, you're the girl from earlier!" Her face lit up as she spoke.

"Yeah, I am...my name's Platina." She said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I'm Tiffany. Thank you for your help."

"Oh, it's no big deal. You know how it is, 'treat others the way you want to be treated' and stuff" Platina shrugged and smiled awkwardly.

"I was raised the same way. What's your name?" Tiffany asked as she turned her attention to Reese.

"Reese Chloris, I was one of Platina's friends at our old school. Nice to meet you." Reese replied, smiling and giving a thumbs up.

"Are you two ready for tomorrow?" Tiffany asked the other two as she sat down on her sleeping bag. "I'm interested to see how they're going to decide the teams."

"Yeah, me too." Reese replied, "Actually, Platina and I wanted to know if you wanted to try and get on a team with us."

Tiffany smiled, "That would be nice."

There was a sudden thud on the main sliding door that the three girls were sitting next to that captured their attention. After a short moment of silence, there was another. In an explosion of wood and fabric, the door gave way and burst down, and a pink-haired girl came crashing in and fell face first on the ground.

"Oooow...jeez, why didn't that door open regularly?.." She moaned as she got to her hands and knees and held her head.

"May?!" Platina exclaimed.

May looked over and vivaciously replied, "Oh, hey Tina!" She jumped up and brushed the dust off of her jacket. "Fancy seeing you here."

"This is the girl you were talking about?" Reese whispered and looked at Platina quizzically.

"May," a voice was heard from behind the door. A man with an eagle beak poked his head in, "I was going to tell you that you slide these kinds of doors." Professor Valenzuela said as he did just that. "I didn't think you would bust it down."

May rubbed the back of her head and chuckled, "Well, thanks for showing me the way, Hawk!"

"You kids get some rest," the professor said as he turned to the other three, "you have a big day ahead of you." He shut the door and walked away.

"You know the professor?" Platina asked as May turned back to them.

"Yeah, me and him go way back. He was one of my mom's teammates." She said as she dropped her bag and set her shotgun on the wall next to it.

"Hey!" Someone called behind Platina and Reese. The two turned around to see a guy storming towards them. He was around 6'1 and had long black hair and black eyes, and he was wearing a black tank top and black sweatpants. He seemed upset, so much so that it almost seemed that his negative emotions manifested into steam around his body.

"Can you be quiet? There are people trying to sleep!" He said in a rude manner; his voice deep and gravely.

Platina didn't know what, but something about this guy was a bit intimidating. "S...S-sorry." She found it hard to talk and the apology came out as a whisper.

"What was that?" He asked. He raised his head and eyed Platina in a kind of menacing way. Tina instinctively let out a weep of fear and her face turned red from anxiety. Like jumping in front of a bullet, May stepped between the two.

"Sorry, guy. We'll try to keep it down." She said. For just another second, his stare loomed on Platina. She knew what he was thinking: _"A runt that hides behind her friends, huh?"_ She lowered her head at that.

"Hey," May spoke up again, "come on, we apologized." She gave him a menacing glare of her own. Tina assumed it must have been enough, because he turned back and left without another word. Platina felt like she could breathe again.

"Jeez, what's his deal?" Reese scoffed as he walked away.

"I don't know," May replied, shaking her head, "but he's right, we should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah, probably. It was nice meeting you guys." Reese said as she and Platina walked back to their sleeping areas. "They seem nice. I think you chose some good friends."

"Yeah, I think so too." Tina agreed, laying down on her sleeping bag. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Platina."


	4. Shi No Mori

The crisp, cool autumn air made Platina's face sting as she and 100 or so students stood in the yard, just as they had been instructed to do after breakfast. Everybody was silent and still in neat rows; patiently awaiting the headmaster to appear on the platform and give further orders.

"Damn, it's cold." May muttered under her breath, "Who does this Professor Lionheart guy think he is, making us stand out here so early in the morning?"

"Well, don't forget, after whatever kind of test he has planned we still have the team initiation ceremony. The two will probably take all day." Platina yawned despairingly. "We'll probably end up skipping lunch."

"Oh god, no." Reese begged, "I can't do that."

"Me neither, I'd starve." May slouched over with a desperate expression on her face. A gust of cold wind sent a chill down the three girl's spines.

"Screw this." May reached her hands out in front of her.

"What are y-" Tina cut herself off when a small flame about the size of May's hands burst into existence and hovered there; giving warmth to all three of them.

"Woah…" Platina stared in awe.

"Dust?" Reese asked, tilting her head slightly and reaching out to the flame.

"Semblance," May answered.

"Attention students!" A hard voice echoed over the crowd and made May jump; extinguishing the flame. Professor Lionheart was standing on the stage, looking down at the new students who would soon become four-man teams.

"As you know, today is the team selection event." He said as he began pacing to his right.

"Usually, I like to change up how we determine them. Last year we had a tournament pitting the students against each other, and the year before that; a physical and mental test of one's abilities." He turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"This year will be quite different as well; it will be taking place in Shi No Mori, just outside of the kingdom."

Everyone except for May froze. All of the soft whispers that were present in the crowd died down. Some students held their breath in shock.

"Shi No...Mori?.." Tina whispered with a dreadful look on her face.

"Do not fret," the Headmaster continued with a tone that was probably supposed to be reassuring, but it didn't help, "I'm sure you will all be fine. You will all start out with a small scroll. As we are flying over the area, you'll be jumping out in groups of three. Except none of you will have parachutes. You will have to figure out a way to land safely, or suffer severe damage to your aura." Lionheart never broke the consistent disciplinary sound in his voice. The collective nervousness of the students could be felt like a pressure on May's shoulders.

"The first person you run into you will fight. The victor will stay with the loser until both have refilled their aura. The two are then partners and are guaranteed to be on a team together. If you come across a team of two by yourself, you will fight one and then leave. Somewhere in the middle of the forest, there is a temple, where we will be waiting inside, and you will hand me your scroll and tell me how many victories and losses you've had and against whom. You are being judged by your performance. The more victories you earn, the higher you are ranked amongst yourselves. Fail to return the scroll, and you are reducted points. If you're killed," he paused for a moment, "well, I feel that goes without saying. You're dismissed."

All of the students, including Platina and the trio, began funneling out to the right, where an airship was waiting for them. For a while, they traveled in silence, until May broke it.

"Hey," she spoke softly, "what's Shi No Mori?"

Tina stopped suddenly, followed by Reese, then May. She looked back at May.

With an almost sorrowful tone, she explained, "Shi No Mori is a huge forest with a lot of Grimm." She paused and gazed into May's confused eyes. "It translates to 'Forest of Death.'"

* * *

The airship was hovering about 1,500 feet in the air. The top of the trees looked more like a large grass field than a forest. Everyone was lined up inside; ready to jump at a moment's notice. They were going in pairs of three down the line, and in just a few more pairs it would be Platina's turn to jump.

"You ready for this?" May turned around and asked. The two's expressions were very different; May looked excited beyond belief, meanwhile, Platina was trying her best to contain her sheer panic.

"Not at all." She replied, tightly squeezing both handles of Platinum Eclipse.

"Next." Professor Valenzuela called forth the next set of students. The line shuffled forward as the next group of three prepared to jump.

"Ready? Go!" Then they vanished from sight.

"This is gonna suck…" Tina whined under her breath.

"Nervous?" A voice chimed in from behind.

Platina turned around to face a dark toned girl with short platinum blonde hair and olive green eyes. She wore a yellow robe with one loose fitting sleeve, black pants and shoes, a red sash with a white endless knot on it around her waist, a red bead necklace and bandages around her arms and legs. Behind her was a taller boy that had tanned skin, black hair, and amber eyes wearing a yellow sash over a dark blue vest, gray pants with yellow lacing up the sides, black boots and fingerless gloves, and a dark gray necklace.

"How can you not be?" Tina pointed out, "We're skydiving from really high up without parachutes into one of the most dangerous places in all of Anima."

"Well, when you put it that way…we're all gonna die." The boy agreed.

"Don't listen to him!" She put her hand up, signaling for him to shut up. "I'm Arslan." The blonde introduced herself in a mature voice. She signaled to the boy and continued, "His name's Bolin."

Platina smiled and replied, "Platina, nice to meet you."

"Next," Valenzuela called.

 _"Alright, time to do this!"_ Platina thought to herself. She turned away from Bolin and Arslan, but before she even took a step, she realized that the next group of people had been filled up. Along with the fiery redhead and the green-haired skater, there was a dark skinned guy with pink and black hair in a ponytail, holding an assault rifle and wearing a cream-colored short sleeved jacket with yellow details, a black long-sleeved V-neck shirt, fingerless gloves, black pants, and cream sneakers.

"Tina," May called, "we'll see you down there, okay?"

Reese simply nodded. Platina nodded back.

"Ready?" Reese and May stepped back and prepared to jump. The pink-haired boy stepped forward and looked down. He seemed just as terrified as Platina was.

"I am so gonna die." He dramatically alluded.

"That's the spirit!" May cheered, giving him a thumbs up.

"Go!" Reese and May jumped without a second thought; extending their weapons on the way. The boy jumped after hesitating for a moment.

"Next," Professor Valenzuela called again. When Platina, Arslan, and Bolin moved forward, they could still hear the faint screams of the pink-haired boy.

Tina looked down and saw three small dots disappearing into the forest below, one by one.

"Maybe you have a point, Bolin," she said as she stepped back from the ledge, "we _are_ going to die."

"Ready?" Professor Valenzuela asked. Platina extended both of the sets of twin blades of Platinum Eclipse. She held one of the kusarigama behind her and one across her chest.

 _"This is it..."_ She thought to herself, her feelings of terror and worry turning into determination. _"It's time to show everyone what I can do!"_

"Go!"

She ran the two steps it took to get to the ledge and jumped as far out as possible. She was falling feet first with her arms above her head; slightly ahead of the other two. Arslan was nose-diving and swiftly catching up to Platina, while Bolin was facing the ground; spread out and trying to slow his descent. Tina couldn't keep herself from closing her eyes and emitting a half-scream, half-laugh the whole way down. She reopened her eyes and realized that the ground was quickly approaching her. She had to act fast.

When she reached the forest, she stuck the blade of her weapon in the closest tree. The kusarigama slowed Platina immensely; digging deep into the tree and tearing up bark the whole way down. When she stopped, her feet were just a yard or two off the ground. She pushed off the tree with her foot and landed safely on the ground.

She took a look around. Conifers and the broadleaf trees surrounded her. Small shrubs, flowers of all shapes and sizes, and brightly colored mushrooms decorated the ground. Just a couple of feet ahead was a steep slope that was followed by a more open area of the woods, which led to a barely visible dirt path heading north. The low hanging fog and the far-off screech of a Nevermore were bringing back her feelings of uneasiness.

Platina sheathed her weapon and began a full on sprint towards the drop. She jumped down and rolled; continuing the run.

 _"Okay, I have to find someone,"_ she thought to herself, _"either May, Reese, or Tiffany. May and Reese landed really close to each other, so my best bet would be to look for Tiffany,"_ She slowed down to a halt, _"but I have no idea where she is…no,"_ she shook her head and continued her sprint, _"focus on staying positive."_

She heard deep growling up ahead, and soon enough three Ursa revealed themselves through the fog and trees.

She took out Platinum Eclipse and extended the blades. The two closer Ursa let out a deafening roar and swung at Tina; almost in unison. Platina jumped out of the way of the attack and into the air. She pushed up on a switch on the back of each handle; breaking both sickles into two pieces connected by a chain flowing behind her. The blades connected with the two Ursa's necks as she flew past them. She pulled the triggers on the front of each handle and thrust her arms forward; firing off the shotgun and tearing out a chunk of the monsters.

Tina landed on the tough ground and rolled on her side; dirtying her outfit a bit. She turned back towards the monsters with both kusarigama at her side. Slowly, she retracted the chains and brought the weapons together. The two Ursa cried out in pain and aggressively turned to face the Huntress-in-training; letting out a deep growl as they glared at her with their beading red eyes.

The Ursa on the right began charging at Platina again. It crushed the twigs and branches on the ground underneath its massive paws. Tina readied her weapon and grit her teeth in preparation for what the beast would do next. The Ursa went for a similar strike it had tried the first time. She stuck her left kusarigama into the arm of the Grimm and swung her right arm upwards; sending the scythe deep into the head of the Grimm. She turned around and dragged the twin blades forward while giving a confident yell. She felt the tips of the weapon scraping up against the back of the bone-like mask the Ursa wore. Almost as if it was never there, the Ursa dissolved into a cloud of opaque black smoke.

The roar of the second Grimm wasn't the only thing giving away its position, it was also the sound of its enormous paws shaking the earth in its mad scramble to get to Tina. She jumped up in the air at the last second and extended the chains again. In one clean maneuver, she sliced off the rest of the head off the monster.

She landed down on one knee, and as she got up she brought the weapon back together again. The last Ursa just ahead seemed larger and more heavily armored than the first two. She started running again and the Ursa let out an intimidating roar that was much louder than the other two.

The Ursa and Tina began to charge towards each other. The Ursa swung at Platina, but she was quick to react; sliding under the paw of the dark creature. She pointed her weapon upwards and shot twice at the exposed belly, then she took one of her blades and jammed it just above the Grimm's ankle. Platina dashed away and fired her weapon. Some of the Grimm's foot was sliced off. Platina smiled to herself as she retracted Platinum Eclipse.

The Ursa; unthinking and indifferent to the attack, gave Platina a cold, dead stare and let out a deep growl. A small shiver was sent down her spine. She began running large circles around the Grimm; dashing between the trees and different elevations of land as a form of cover. She hoped to confuse the soulless beast and land a surprise attack.

She jumped out and kicked off one of the trees, which sent her spinning in the air towards the beast. She extended the chains and took two quick slashes at the top of its neck, then she quickly retracted one of them. When she landed, she spun the other chain twice behind her and threw it at the Ursa; who was still trying to react to the first attack. The blade stuck itself in the upper front leg of the beast.

The Grimm suddenly stepped on the chain with its paw, which pulled the Huntress to the ground and yanked the weapon away from her. She scrambled to her knees in an attempt to get up, but when she raised her head she was nearly face-to-face with the sharp, stained teeth and blood red eyes of the Grimm. Tina knew that without the second half of Platinum Eclipse, the weapon was nearly useless to use against a Grimm this size. In a frozen state of fear, she was at the Ursa's mercy.

* * *

Traveling through the forest was no sweat for Reese. She was moving twice her own running speed on her hoverboard; clearing rocks and toppled trees without even having to think about them. The wind pushed back her hood and allowed her long, green hair to flow freely. That was her favorite part of skating, that plus the cool air hitting her face and the weightlessness that the hoverboard brought. It made her forget about all the troubles in the world. She was jerked back into reality when a tree suddenly appeared in front of her, but she swerved out of the way just in time.

 _"Right, gotta focus."_ She thought to herself. The only thing that Reese could see were trees. It was endless, and with no idea where this "temple" was, she felt lost. She slowed down and stepped off her board for a short break.

She sat down and leaned against a white bamboo tree. She took moment or two just to take everything in; listening to all of the different wildlife and inhaling the sweet smell of the morning dew and the flowers that surrounded her. Nature was Reese's second favorite thing. She took the scroll she had gotten on the airship out of the pocket of her hoodie. It was white and had thin blue swirls on it, and on either side, there was a gold knob.

 _"What's with these scrolls anyway?"_ She wondered. Why would they add such a pointless part of the challenge? _"Oh well, sitting here won't get me answers."_

Reese got back up and began riding on her hoverboard again. She rode for about fifteen minutes simply repeating the same scenery over and over without much difference. Just as she was getting desperate for any sort of landmark, she realized that she was about to ride straight off a cliff that led to an area clear of trees below. She performed a 360 Pop Shove-It just for kicks as she rode off the cliff; sending the hoverboard spinning in a full circle underneath her feet.

To her surprise, there was a person just standing around in the middle of the small area below her. She didn't have time to see who it was or move out of the way, and she crashed into them. The person barely managed to block the attack with what looked like a sword. Reese positioned her feet in a way that activated the shockwave ability on her weapon. She kicked off on the board right before a small but powerful blast of energy erupted from the bottom. The combined force of the kick and the blast sent her opponent flying to the ground a few feet away.

Her board stuck itself into the ground. Reese grabbed it and dashed towards the other person. She jumped into the air and placed the weapon under her feet. Her opponent moved out of the way at the last second and she landed where he would have been. The landing created a gust of wind that blew through the grass all around her. Impressed by the person's ability to dodge, she halted her onslaught. She stood up straight and gave a cocky smirk. Fighting was Reese's third favorite thing.

* * *

The loud bang of a gun went off extremely close to the Grimm and Platina, which captured the attention of both of them. There was a flash of red, pink, and black that crashed into the Ursa and sent it sprawling on the ground several feet away from Platina. A pair of black knee-high boots landed on the dirt just to the side of Tina.

May's right fist was engulfed in brilliant red flames while the other cradled Amber Storm at her side. The flames went out and May straightened herself; keeping her front facing the downed Ursa. The Grimm pushed itself to its hind legs and stumbled a bit before regaining its balance. A solitary crack ran down the left side of its face where it had been hit. It let out a deafening roar that shook the ground. May barely moved an inch. She stood her ground firmly against the beast.

"Stay away from her!" She screamed almost as loud, switching her weapon to her right hand.

The Grimm didn't listen to her command and came charging at the pink-haired fire wielder. May began transforming Amber Storm; the blades folded inwards and part of the handle collapsed into a stock. She raised the weapon pulled the trigger of the shotgun; firing off a large spread of dust pellets that hit the Ursa all over its body. May shot two or three more times in rapid succession, but the Ursa seemed unaffected by the assault of shotgun fire.

Platina knew that she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. She sprang into action and dashed for the missing piece of her weapon. She grabbed the handle and retracted the chain as she rolled on the ground. When she lifted her head, May had her weapon fully extended again. She flipped the battle axe around and shot behind her; propelling her forward faster than the Grimm could react. May slashed at the Grimm's torso three times; using the recoil from shooting the gun as momentum. She aimed the weapon back at the Ursa and fire twice more without pumping it in between the shots. This launched her backwards and out of the way of a sweeping attack from the monster.

Tina could only stare in awe at May's fighting style. She used a high-powered weapon to launch herself everywhere really fast. She's heard of this kind of technique, but she had never seen it be used in person. It was mesmerizing.

May landed on the side of a tree and shot Amber Storm again to launch herself towards the beast another time. The Ursa was still in the final motions of its last attack. As May flew over its head, she ignited her hand again and slammed down on the top of the Grimm's head; driving it into the ground and creating a pressure wave that kicked dirt and twigs into the air and made Platina's hair blow back and become reminiscent of ocean waves.

The beast tried to get back up from the massive blow it just took, but the opposing Huntress was relentless. As soon as it tried to stand, May stuck her axe into its torso and forced it back to the ground, then she pressed her left boot on the neck of the Ursa. May grit her teeth and lit her fist ablaze again, and almost faster than the eye could see, she struck the Ursa in the top of its head. She began yelling as she ferociously pounded the monster's head into the forest floor. The beast kept struggling to get up, but couldn't manage to do it. Slowly, it stopped resisting and began to go limp.

The pauses between May's strikes became longer after the Ursa stopped struggling. Finally, she let out a final yell and slammed her fist one last time. When May got back to her feet, Tina was able to see what remained of the Ursa. The mask was completely shattered, and whatever pieces remained were scorched dark gray from May's flames. The head looked like it had caved in - but from where she was standing it was hard to tell - and many of its fangs had fallen out.

Platina wasn't awestruck by May's abilities anymore, she was terrified. She was terrified of her monstrous strength, her unpredictable fighting style, and her incredible semblance that her's couldn't compare to. Perhaps the most nerve-racking thing was the mercilessness she displayed while executing the Grimm. Now she had to face her.

Tina got into her offensive battle position. Her right kusarigama was hanging by the chain at her side, and her left arm was across her chest holding the other scythe at her shoulder. May turned towards her opponent and smiled with anticipation. She raised her weapon to chest level with one hand. Only two words were exchanged.

"You ready?" May asked rhetorically.


	5. Shi No Mori: Proof of Oneself

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang throughout the forest as Platina struggled to block and dodge May's furious assault. With every swing May threw, she switched something up - the direction, the speed, the power; something to throw Tina off. She was completely on the offensive, not giving Platina even a second to rest.

 _"I can't beat her like this,"_ Tina thought to herself, _"I need to give myself just a little distance to change things up."_ Platina knew that May would be aggressive, and she figured that once she can switch to a more defensive style, she'll have an easier time handling her.

May swung Amber Storm over her head for a powerful downwards chop aimed at Platina's brow, and almost in an instant, the axe clashed with both pieces of Platinum Eclipse. Platina bent down on one knee as she struggled with May. The outsole of May's boot struck Platina's chest and she tumbled on the ground as she got knocked back. May brought Amber Storm to her waist and tore to Tina's side with a pull of the trigger. She swung her weapon and Platina ducked under the attack. May brought her weapon around and swung again from the other side, and in response, Tina back sprung away on one hand. May shot her weapon twice at her opponent. Tina swung one of the kusarigama at the shots; knocking them both astray, then she aimed her other one up and shot back.

With that, Platina created the opening she needed. She put one half of Platinum Eclipse back in its sheath and regathered the other. Her modified version of kusarigamajutsu, the art of using the kusarigama, was an effective means of attack, but it was much harder to defend with. She was now using the traditional version - holding the rolled up chain in her left hand and the sickle in her right.

May dashed low to the ground to avoid the dust projectiles that came from Tina's weapon and started sprinting towards her again. She began to swing Amber Storm to the right, but in an attempt to fake Platina out, she grabbed the handle and forced it around her for an attack from the opposite side. However, Tina still managed to dodge under it and entangle the weapon in her chain, as if she knew that it was coming. Platina stepped on the chain with all of her weight; pulling the battleaxe to the ground, and at the same time she raised her right arm and swung her kusarigama at May's face. May was quick to react and stopped the attack by grabbing Tina's forearm with her free hand.

As they struggled in a short pushing match, May flashed a competitive smile to Tina. At that moment Platina began to feel May's hand heat up, and before she knew it her sleeve erupted into flames. Tina panicked and desperately yanked her arm from May. While she was preoccupied with escaping from her grasp, the May curled her other hand into a fist and struck Platina as hard as she could in the face. The amount of shock Tina felt was incredible. She's never been hit that hard before. The punch knocked her onto her back a couple of feet away with a ringing in her ear. The hold the chain had on the battleaxe loosened. May untangled the chain and tossed it back to her fallen enemy. Platina rolled backward and got back up onto her feet; collecting the rest of Platinum Eclipse as she did so.

"You're really strong." Platina complemented her as she stood up.

"You're quick on your feet." May replied as she readied herself. "Why aren't you using your semblance?"

Tina smirked and answered, "You know, I don't think I'll actually need it."

Of course, she was lying in an attempt to shake her foe's nerve. As of right now, she was desperately relying on it. The ruse didn't seem to work though, May remained as confident-looking as ever.

 _"I have to find a way to beat her,"_ Tina began to reanalyzing everything she knew about May's fighting style. _"When her weapon isn't in its_ axe _form, it has a spread shot and she has to pump it every time she pulls the trigger. When it is an_ axe _, it's buckshot and semi-automatic. I could win a long range fight, but she can close the distance really easily, and I can't afford to get too close, especially with her semblance. The flames don't even bother her at all."_

Platina was starting to freak out. Her hands were beginning to shake and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead. _"Maybe I can use...no,"_ she shook the very idea out of her head, _"I can't afford to do that. I'll just avoid her attacks until I see an opening. A nice hit to the head to daze her then I'll just go ham or something."_ Her confidence wasn't exactly coming back, but at least she had half a plan.

May was a bit annoyed by her friend's cocky remark. "Don't underestimate me, Tina." She warned. "I want you to give it everything you've got; don't hold back!"

She flipped Amber Storm around and launched herself through the air. Platina was ready for that and dived out of the way onto one hand. May swung her weapon while she was still in the air; the attack grazed the heel of Platina's boots.

Platina regained her footing and began spinning her chain in circles. Platina threw the weight at the end of the chain towards May, and it ensnared Amber Storm just below its blades. May didn't even have a moment to struggle before Tina pulled hard on the chain, forcing her and her weapon forward. Platina jumped up and kicked May in what would have been the chest, but she raised Amber Storm just in time to stop the attack.

Tina grabbed hold of Amber Storm and swung her weapon at May. The twin blades slashed across May's face. A hint of anger sparked in the Huntress' eyes. The combined force of Tina pushing off with her legs and May shoving her away threw Platina back a few feet. May wasted no time to get back on the offensive; dashing forward and taking another swing at her opponent. Platina deftly sidestepped the attack, and May retaliated by lighting her fist ablaze and swinging from the ground up to Tina's face. Platina, with an unwavering glare, took the blade of her kusarigama and redirected her punch upwards. She then kicked May twice in the chest. In a dazzling display, Tina flipped over and wrapped her legs around May's neck and threw her down onto the ground. She landed with a hard thud and narrowly rolled out of the way of a slash from Platinum Eclipse.

May sprung up from the ground with a determined yell and wildly slashed at her left and right. Tina jumped backward and shot twice at her. May spun her weapon around in a circle, blocking the shots, then she rapidly shot five times at Platina. They all narrowly grazed her as she dashed forward. May fired Amber Storm behind her and sped towards her enemy; bringing her weapon around her body and swinging straight down. Platina expertly sidestepped her attack, and the axe slammed into the fallen tree behind her.

 _"Now's my chance!"_ Tina leaped forward and balled her hand into a fist around her weapon while giving a short yell. She concentrated all of her power into her arm and slammed May's head, causing her to let go of her weapon and stumble back with a grunt of pain.

Platina cut May across her chest and immediately followed up with a punch to her stomach, which made her stumble back again. Platina focused all her power into her fist again and socked May in the jaw; lifting her into the air. She threw her blade forward and slashed May back into the ground. She recalled her weapon and leaped forward for another hack at May, but just before she reached her target, May raised her head and gave Tina a burning, determined glare. A wave of flames erupted from May's body and engulfed Tina with intense heat.

The force of the sudden flames thrusted her sprawling across the ground beyond the flames. She struggled to push herself back up. Her knees and arms buckled under her and it was hard to even stand up straight. Even though she was only in the flames for a second or two, it must have sliced off a decent portion of her aura.

She saw May slowly emerge from the flames. Her eyes were ablaze with steadfastness that burned nearly as bright as the flames around her. She approached her weapon, grabbed it with one hand while gritting her teeth, and with one fluid motion, she forced the handle forward at pulled the trigger. She flew towards Platina at lightning speeds.

"Damn it," Platina clenched her teeth as she prepared for May's next attack.

Dirt flew up from the ground as the red and black blur came to an abrupt stop. May had plunged the blades of her axe into the ground and was hanging off of the end of the handle.

 _"A kick?!"_ Platina realized.

She tried to raise the chain of Platinum Eclipse upwards to block the attack, but she was too slow. The top of May's boot came down on her head with incredible strength; forcing her to fold over her waist and let out a cry of pain. As soon as she raised her head again, May was already initiating a second attack. Her right hand was on fire and was being thrown from as far back as possible. The blend of force from the punch and the intense heat from the flame connecting with Platina's stomach knocked the air out of her and sent her tumbling on the ground; unable to move for a solid second.

Tina struggled to lift her torso and sit up, and when she opened her eyes she found herself staring down the barrel of her enemy's shotgun. May's face was visible right in between the top two blades of the weapon. Her pink hair had fallen flat and nearly covered her amber eyes, which held a look of triumph. A few drops of sweat could be seen forming on her forehead and she was breathing heavily. Platina's whole body flickered with an electric blue aura, proving just how much damage she took during the fight. Just a couple more blows and it would be drained to zero. Between being almost out of aura and being held at gunpoint, Platina couldn't fight back any longer. May had won.

* * *

Reese and her new partner trod slowly through the creepy forest in an awkward silence. They had been walking for at least an hour now and they haven't seen any trace of the shrine that Professor Lionheart talked about. The crunch of twigs underneath the two partners feet was the only thing that broke the silence of the forest. That is, until a haunting screech echoed throughout the morning air.

"What was that?" The pink-haired boy asked in a frightened voice as he maneuvered closer to the Huntress.

Reese sighed and said, "It's just a crow." In an annoyed voice.

"Oh, okay..." The Huntsman relaxed and backed up to his original position; straightening his back and becoming taller than Reese.

A rustling in the bushes to Reese's right made the boy step back in fear and raise his assault rifle to his shoulders. A small rabbit hopped out of the shrubs. He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his guard. He looked back at the skater to find an underwhelmed face scattered with disappointment.

"What?" He asked, slightly confused.

"I cannot believe how lame you are…" She sighed while closing her eyes and slouching her shoulders. He began to question what she meant, but Reese cut him off by saying, "Okay, it's Nadir, right?

"Uh, yeah," he said, "Nadir Shiko."

"Well, let's see here. Your fighting skills are subpar, your weapon isn't really the best, you seem to be afraid of every little sound in this forest," she leaned in close and glared into his blue eyes, "and on top of all of that you're trying to tell me that you don't even know what your own semblance is?!" She was almost yelling at him now.

"Look, I already told you," Nadir said as he raised his arms to keep his distance from the girl, "no matter how hard I try it won't come. Trust me, I'm also really upset about it."

"I don't understand, how could they let someone like you in here?" She asked.

"I was recommended..." He mumbled.

"What the - who the hell recommended you?!"

"My brother! He suggested me but the staff didn't think my transcripts were all that great." He explained. "My brother convinced them to let me in if I could beat him in a fight. In all honesty, it was probably a fluke, but..."

Reese shook her head. "What do you even mean, 'it was a fluke'?"

"Okay, I think it's more like he let me win…"

Reese scoffed, kicked off on her hoverboard, and began riding ahead of Nadir. The Huntsman raised his right arm and opened his mouth to stop her, but no words came out. All he could do is watch as she sped off and disappeared into the trees.

* * *

Tiffany marched through Shi No Mori all alone. The slight breeze dragged her hair with it as she counted how many cylinders of dust she brought for the second time. She felt uneasy being in this place by herself for this long. She was also feeling a bit confused. She hadn't run into any Grimm yet.

 _"I thought this place had a lot of Grimm."_ She pondered. Every now and then she would hear the distinct screech of a Nevermore or the howl of a Beowolf, but that was it.

She came across a rocky incline that stood about three times her height that blocked her path. She took a deep breath and began climbing. When she reached the summit, she found herself on a rather barren cliff that overlooked nearly the entire forest. The only things that decorated the grass were a large rock, a fallen tree, and a few pink flowers. She approached the edge of the cliff and surveyed for any gaps in the sea of trees.

A small outline of an object was visible to her left. She took out her revolver-sniper rifle, Toxic Valentine, and gazed through the scope. As Tiffany turned a dial on the side of the scope to zoom in, the object came into focus; revealing a red traditional Haven-style roof.

 _"There we go."_ She thought as she cracked a smile. _"All that's left to do is to meet my teammate."_

She kneeled at the edge of the cliff and stared off into the distance. For a while, she let the breeze cool her off, which gave her a strange sense of peace. A loud hissing noise snagged her attention from below her. She looked down to find a King Taijitsu Grimm slithering in between the trees; the two heads working together nearly flawlessly to maneuver the forest. Tiffany stood up and pushed open her revolver chamber to remove the current dust cartridge. She swapped it out with a purple and black 'gravity' dust on her belt. She inserted the cylinder and closed the chamber, and the two black lines running down the barrel turned purple.

She pulled back on the silver hammer of the gun and leaped off the side of the cliff. As she was falling, she pushed a button on the right side of Toxic Valentine which made a bayonet extend from just under the barrel. She fired her gun and propelled herself towards the two-headed snake at a greater speed. When she reached the creature, she took the blade and slashed the Grimm all the way down the side of its body. The snake let out a distressed hiss of pain and surprise. Tiffany landed on the ground and immediately fired again; giving her a little distance from the beast. She planted her black combat boots into the dirt to stop herself and turned around to face the monster. The two pairs of blood red eyes pierced Tiffany's soul, but the Huntress managed to keep her calm. She pushed open the revolver chamber and quickly replaced the gravity dust with ice dust - turning the purple lines a light shade of blue.

The white snake hissed loudly and lunged towards Tiffany, but the Huntress sidestepped the attack. The Grimm's head hit the ground; giving Tiffany the perfect opportunity to strike back. She raised her weapon and shot three times; freezing the first head to the forest floor. Tiffany could feel the second head slithering towards her from behind. She swung her weapon around and plunged the bayonet into the right eye of the beast. It let out a shrill cry of pain and writhed its body around itself. While she struggled to keep the black head of the King Taijitsu pinned down, the white head broke free of its icy prison and twisted over its partner to try to swallow the Huntress whole.

Tiffany sacrificed the advantage she had on the black half of the monster to avoid being eaten by the white half. The snakes head sent dirt and twigs flying through the air, which rained down around the Huntress as she ran away. The Grimm wasted no time getting back on the chase. They started slithering as fast as they could towards their prey, but as the trees grew thicker it became harder to weave through them. Eventually, a tree got in between the two halves of the body, which clotheslined the Grimm. Tiffany turned around and froze the middle of the snake to the tree. The twin heads struggled to reach the Huntress, but they couldn't quite reach her.

Tiffany gave a smile and a short laugh as she watched the defeated Grimm wriggle in place; desperately trying to free itself.

"Thanks, guys, it's been fun." She said and turned around back to the direction of the temple.

"Oh right," she turned back to the beast, "before I forget."

She loaded her original dust into her rifle and put the snake in her crosshairs. Two loud bangs rang throughout the lorn forest, and then everything was silent again.

* * *

May and Platina ambled through the woods with high spirits. May was swooning over Platinum Eclipse. After their fight, the Huntress had become entranced with it. She was playing with the switch on the handle that extended and retracted the chain.

"How do you like it?" Tina asked.

"Oh, it's incredible!" May replied ecstatically. She extended the weapon and sliced off a branch of a tree. "What'd you say this thing was called again?"

"A kusarigama, it's an old Animese weapon." Platina replied smiling.

"Made for grabbing and tripping, right?" The Huntress guessed. "The way you used it in the fight was amazing."

"Oh, I wasn't that great." She responded, throwing her hand behind her head. "I mean, you totally kicked my butt."

Great, now she was worried that was a weird thing to say. Thankfully, May seemed unbothered.

"No, you did really well. It's been a while since I had a fight that had me going like that." May's words made Tina feel glad. "Just remember, you have to get stronger than me now." May reminded her.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Platina reassured her. "Not just you though, I'll be the greatest Huntress that ever lived."

May retracted Platinum Eclipse and giggled, "That's a big statement, but I can believe it." She kicked a rock and sent it flying out of sight, "You do have a long way to go, though. Hawk is at least twice as good of a fighter as I am, and he's always talking about other Huntsman that are even stronger."

Platina gulped at the thought of people that powerful, even though she always figured there were Huntsmen and Huntresses out there like that.

May returned Tina's weapon to her and continued, "But hey, it's pretty cool that we're on a team together."

"Yeah, I was really worried I was gonna get stuck with a bunch of strangers, or people I didn't like or something." Platina was amazed by the luck she seemed to have ever since she arrived at this school. Not only did she make a few new friends, but one of them is going to be on her team.

May suddenly stopped moving forward. Platina did the same and looked back at her with a curious look. May stood silent for a second before she said anything.

"Do you hear that?" May asked with a serious expression that slowly found its way to her.

Platina didn't hear anything at first, but as she tuned in to the natural sounds of the forest, the sound May was referring to became more clear. Amidst the chirp of the birds and the whistle of the breeze, there was a consistent crunching sound growing louder as it continued toward them. From behind a wall of trees and bushes, a figure cloaked in black emerged. It watched from the shadows in silence.

"It's a Grimm!" May wasted no time taking out Amber Storm and blitzing over to the black figure.

She swung with all her strength, but just before her attack made an impact, the figure dashed underneath her axe and out into the opening where Platina stood. She grabbed Platinum Eclipse and stepped forward to attack. The black figure kicked off a tree next to it and sped past Tina. It stood up as it faced the two Huntresses. It reached out to its head to reveal a human hand under the cloak. They flipped up their hood to reveal a pair of black eyes and long, layered black hair.

"The two of you have caused me enough trouble." He spoke. The two Huntresses recognized him almost immediately.

"Hey, you're that jerk from last night." Platina pointed out. The boy's blank expression stayed even after he was noticed. After a while, there was a spark of realization in his eyes, then his face hardened.

"And you two are the loud, annoying ones from last night. What's your point?" He said in his relatively deep, stern voice.

"The nerve…" Tina growled under her breath. Her entire body tensed up with slight anger towards the Huntsman.

"I don't have time for this; stand down." The boy commanded. Tina clenched her jaw and curled her hand into a fist.

"Tina..." Platina loosened up when she heard May's voice. She looked over at the pink-haired Huntress. She wore her usual confident smile, and her eyes were shining with what could only be described as excitement.

"Show this guy what you can do." She said. Her words filled Platina's heart with assurance.

"Right," Platina smiled and nodded at her friend before beginning the walk towards the cloaked boy. "I hope you're ready." She said as she cracked the knuckles of one of her hands.

"I have no reason to fight you, just get out of my way." He repeated.

"Well, that's too bad." Tina denied the Huntsman the choice. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Doesn't matter." He replied. Something about this guy just irked Platina, and it seemed like he could see that. He continued, "If you have to know, it's Lukas, but you're wasting my time; get lost."

"Even if you don't have a reason to fight, I do." The Huntress stated. Lukas stood there for a second, and even though he didn't show it on his face, he was a little curious about what she meant.

The Huntsman and Huntress locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a voice broke the silence.

"Right behind you!" Tina shouted from behind.

 _"Her semblance must be clone based."_ Lukas quickly realized. He drew his sword from the sheath that hung across his waist, turned, and slashed behind him.

His sword made no contact. Nothing was there, not even a trace of another person. He turned back to find himself nearly face-to-face with the blue-haired girl. She punched him in the face. He stumbled back and quickly snapped back into action. He flicked his left hand upwards; activating a black device strapped to his wrist, which brought forth a small, hidden knife. He slashed at his opponent, but she dodged back to avoid it and let herself fall into a back spring and back to her feet. Lukas was perplexed at what had just happened.

 _"What was that?"_ He thought to himself. He was sure he heard her voice behind him.

"Well, I can't just let you show me up like that." He said as he retracted the knife and raised his sword up with one hand; lifting his cloak slightly to reveal a light gray denim jacket and dark pants. Platina extended the chain of Platinum Eclipse and got into her usual fighting stance.

"A kusarigama," Lukas observed.

"Yeah," Tina replied. She examined his weapon: a sword with no crossguard and a single-edged, straight blade that was curved at the end. "and you have a shikomizue, right? I wonder if it can do anything special."

There was another moment of silence and motionlessness. Platina waited for Lukas to make a move, meanwhile, Lukas was trying to think of what he should do exactly.

 _"Kusarigama are specialized for blocking and countering blades like mine. A frontal attack might not end well."_ He began brainstorming ideas for how to get around a direct fight, and his brain led him to his go-to tactic for new opponents. _"She'll never expect an attack from behind."_

One second he was there, and the next he was gone, leaving only a swirl of leaves in his spot. He was suddenly in the air behind the Huntress. He swung his sword at her head. The blade made contact, not with his enemy, but her weapon. She moved the kusarigama in the perfect position to trap his shikomizue in between her blades.

 _"What?"_ He thought.

The Huntress dragged the sword downwards and tugged on the hilt with her other hand; planting it into the ground, then she turned around and swung at him with her weapon. Lukas moved his head back but still got hit by the tip of the blades. He extended the knife again and swung at her again. She ducked under the blade and backed away from the next two swings he threw. He tried to kick her, but when he raised his leg, she used the blade of her weapon to pull his other leg out from underneath him.

"Damn it," Lukas grunted as he hit the ground.

He twisted his legs around as he got up and Tina stepped back as not to get hit. Lukas pushed himself up from the ground and lunged towards his enemy. His two initial slashes with his knife were both blocked by the girl, but he finally got past her defenses and delivered a glancing blow to her head. She tried to block another strike from him, but he kicked away her weapon and struck her face with his book. He jumped up and kicked her again, but she blocked it in time to harmlessly slide across the ground.

She dodged two more incoming knife attacks and pushed the Huntsman back with her shoulder, then she swung her kusarigama in a circle around her. Lukas jumped back to avoid it, then vanished again to reappear next to his sword. Just as he was about to grab his weapon, he realized that the kusarigama was heading straight for him. He narrowly ducked underneath and teleported back a yard or two; away from a kick that came from Tina.

Platina retracted Platinum Eclipse, grabbed the hilt of Lukas' sword, and pulled it out of the ground as she ran toward her opponent. She pressed a button on the weapon, which made a grabbable ring form at the base of the hilt. She jumped up, grabbed it with her right hand, and brought it up to her left shoulder, then the sword split into four blades and arranged itself to resemble a giant shuriken. She threw it with all her might at the still Huntsman. Lukas simply raised his arm and caught the spinning weapon through a gap between the blades.

"Nice going, Tina!" May shouted from the sidelines.

Platina landed on her feet and straightened her stance. "Your semblance is teleportation; interesting." She put on a smug grin.

"Yeah, it is." He agreed as he stood back up. Platina saw him smile for the first time as he transformed his weapon back to its original state.

"So is yours." Platina's own grin faded away. "Whenever I teleported, you knew exactly where I was going to be. On top of that, you knew the functions of my sword, Uchimitsu, without me showing or telling you. I did think about it when you asked me. That's what you wanted, right?"

Platina didn't say a word and just pulled out the second half of her weapon.

"Your semblance is telepathy. Not only can you read my thoughts, but you can also talk to me like that, and you're so adept at it you can make me think the voice is coming from a different direction. Paired with the nature of the kusarigama and I'd say it makes it hard to even touch you in a fight, right?"

Platina finally spoke up, "You're pretty smart." She said in a sincere tone with a splash of mockery.

"And that's not all, I also figured out your weakness." Lukas said in a calm, confident voice. "Sure, you can read my moves when I have them all thought out, but the attacks that I didn't linger on...the actions I just did without giving them a second thought; they were the ones that evaded your semblance. In other words, you can only read my conscious thoughts; natural fighting instinct can't be heard by you!"

He darted towards Platina. The Huntress raised her arm and slashed downwards. Lukas evaded to the right and retaliated with his sword. She ducked under the attack and swept her leg across the ground; hitting the Huntsman's ankle and tripping him up momentarily, but he quickly regained his balance. Tina kicked up towards his chest, and he moved Uchimitsu in front of the attack to block it. The two locked up for a split second, each giving a glare of anger and determination.

Lukas pushed her back, which was met by a few swings of the kusarigama that he evaded. The Huntress turned and lunged at him with another attack, just to have it be blocked by his sword. She jumped up in an attempt to kick him in the face, but Lukas took hold of her boot and threw her to the side. She flipped once in the air before landing sideways on a tree, then she immediately pushed off. She reached her opponent again and kicked twice. The cloaked Huntsman used his hands to lead the kicks away. When Platina landed, he began swinging his sword at her. She managed to block the first two swings, but the last one got past her defense and she was slashed all the way down her chest.

Lukas threw a punch that connected with an arm that Platina raised in defense. She jumped back to avoid an upwards slash from the sword, then she began swinging her right sickle in circles. Lukas darted towards the Huntress, who raised her other gun and shot twice. He ducked under the first and maneuvered around the second, then he raised his shikomizue for a stabbing strike. Platina swung and wrapped her chain around the sword, then she retracted the weapon as much as she could so the handle met the Lukas' blade.

 _"Here we go,"_ Tina thought. She was in control now, at least for a little bit.

She pulled Uchimitsu to the right, bringing the Huntsman with it, and kicked him in the stomach with her shin. She flipped around to face away from him, grabbed his cloak around his neck, and pulled him over her own body. He landed on his back with a thud and a grunt, and Platina raised one kusarigama up and slashed at his face. Just before the blade made contact, however, he vanished.

She looked up and the Huntsman was in the air above her, transforming his weapon into the massive throwing star. He sent the weapon spinning downwards. Tina jumped away and the shuriken stuck itself into the ground. She looked up to where the Huntsman was and saw two knives crackling with electricity gliding through the air towards her. She moved her kusarigama in front of her chest and ducked her head underneath to protect herself, but all she felt was the sizzle of the lightning as the knives simply grazed past her arms.

She raised her head and saw that her opponent was sprinting towards her from where his sword had landed; holding it backwards in his hand. He swung it up from his right and the curved tip barely nicked Platina's cheek as she flicked her head back. He flipped the sword around so that the cutting edge faced the Huntress again and swung it back at her. She raised her right scythe and the sword connected with the hilt of it. Tina pushed the switch on the handle inwards, which made the twin blades shift and align with the barrel of the weapon, causing Lukas' sword to slide right off. She swung her other kusarigama at Lukas and smiled to herself; sure that it was going to hit. The Huntsman deftly maneuvered around the sickle and grabbed Platina's arm, then he glided behind her and forced her arm against her back.

He pushed Tina's arm up, and the stinging pain forced her to drop her weapon. He took her arm and moved to her side. He kicked Platina in the chest. She let out a yelp of pain and lost her footing. Lukas' grip on her arm disappeared as he swept his leg along the ground and kicked the one leg Platina was balancing on, then he vanished.

She felt a jolt of pain on her back. Platina spun in the air and saw Lukas was on his back underneath her and had kicked her in the back. He pushed himself up and kicked her again. Lukas stood up and raised his arm to Platina. A sudden explosion came from his gauntlet and blasted Platina in the face, which launched her higher into the air. The explosion shocked her to her core.

Lukas teleported just above her and prepared to kick her to the ground. Platina crossed her arms to block his attack, and he brought the heel of his boot down on her forearms. Her entire body spun as she fell back to the ground.

She landed with a loud crash. Dust flew into the air and quickly settled again. A few feet ahead of her, Lukas popped into existence. Both were motionless for a moment. Lukas sheathed his sword, turned around, and picked up the two knives he had thrown earlier in the fight. He began walking away, but stopped when he heard something crack behind him. He turned and found the Huntress hobbling over to her second kusarigama. She bent down to pick it up, then she shakily got into her fighting position.

"W-what? You think I'm done?" She whimpered. Her knees nearly gave out as she stood back up, and her arms barely had enough strength to raise them as much as she did.

"It's over, just give up." Lukas commanded in his usual cold tone and frown.

"No…" She growled through her clenched teeth. She raised her head and displayed her lavender eyes that sparked with determination.

"I'm not gonna give up, I will beat you!" She shouted.

That's when Lukas noticed it. Her eyes...they were different somehow, almost sinister. And what was that surrounding her body? It was so thin that it was barely visible, but he could swear it was there...black aura?...

Tina blinked and her eyes immediately softened. She looked down at herself and began taking in long, deep breaths. The darkness around her faded from his vision almost instantly. Had he imagined it? Nevertheless, Lukas took this opportunity while she was distracted.

In a flash, he was standing directly in front of the Huntress; clutching her by the neck and raising her into the air. She dropped Platinum Eclipse and grasped onto his wrist; pulling as hard as she could and kicking at his body to get free. Lukas kept his hold though, and then he activated the device on his wrist. A wave of electricity burned throughout Platina's body. She yelled in pain but could no longer struggle; her muscles went stiff because of the lightning.

"Let her go!" A voice screamed from outside of the battlefield.

A gunshot rang through the air and May was over in an instant. She swung Amber Storm at Lukas, who released his grip of Platina and jumped back just in time. Tina was rather light for her size, but her whole body felt heavy as she dropped to the ground, then collapsed to her knees. Right before she let her whole body fall, however, an arm caught her from behind. May was crouching beside her, holding her up with her right arm while steadying herself with her weapon in her left.

"That's enough!" May roared. "You're going too far! It's over, you won! Just leave…"

Not a sound was heard while the skilled Huntsman and the passionate Huntress stared deep into each other's eyes. Lukas finally sighed and turned around again; walking away from the two partners. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at the two girls.

"You two better not get in my way…" His words sounded like a threat, but May didn't care about them right now.

"Tina…" May breathed softly to her partner as she flipped her to her back and rested her head on her hand. Platina's eyes were closed, but it seemed like she was still conscious, because she responded to her words.

"May…" Tina's voice was barely audible, but it seemed she would be okay with some rest. May smiled at the thought, but it disappeared when she saw a tear forming in her friend's eye.

"I-I can't believe I lost t-twice…" She croaked out with the last of her strength; the single tear breaking from her eyelid and running down her cheek. The Huntress' soft crying was soon drowned out by the gentle blowing of the wind and the rustling of the leaves.


	6. Shi No Mori: Finale

"Rrra! I can't believe I lost to that jerk!" Platina tried to convey her anger with her voice - though it's cutesy pitch made it difficult to take seriously - while swinging her arms in the air with her fists balled tightly.

The morning fog seemed to have lifted almost entirely, and the air was beginning to warm up, although they couldn't feel much of the sun's direct heat because of all the trees. May glanced over to her distraught friend with a worried expression.

"Are...you okay?" She asked in a soft, concerned tone.

"Huh?" Tina's face softened as she looked over at her friend. May's amber eyes were filled with care.

"I mean, you're taking this a little hard...it kinda seems out of your character." She finished the last part rather quickly compared to the rest of the statement. Platina lowered her head and sighed; half closing her eyes.

"Sorry..." She apologized.

"Tina, you don't have anything to apologize for," May assured her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's just…" Tina hesitated for a second, "ever since I lost to you, I just wanted to prove myself."

"What do you mean?" May tilted her head when she asked the question.

"You're just so much better than me!" She raised her voice slightly, clearly frustrated. "You said you were from Signal, isn't that, like, the best school in Vale before Beacon? I went to such a small school that I was lucky to get here." She crossed her arms.

"Tina, what school I went to doesn't matter." May tried to calm the Huntress, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"But it's not just that though, your fighting style, your strength, even you're semblance, I can't compete with you at all!" She lowered her head again. "I feel like I'm going to be a crappy teammate…"

"Tina!" May raised her voice in an assertive tone. Platina was caught off guard and they both stopped walking. "You're being ridiculous. I fought you myself, you're stronger than you think." Her voice softened and she put on a friendly smile.

Nearly all of the doubt that clouded Tina's mind just seconds before seemed to melt away in response to May's soft words and warm smile. She tried to mirror the closed smile, but she didn't think it came out as well. May didn't care though.

"You'll be fine."

"Thanks, May. That really makes me feel better." Tina replied and they started moving forward again.

There was a peaceful quiet between the two for a while as they moved into an area with a lower density of trees. They scanned in between them for any sign of the temple. May began to hum softly. She held her hands behind her back at her waist and increased the length of her strides. Platina felt at peace. The fresh air felt good to take a break to breathe in after the pandemonium that occurred earlier. She once again copied May's smile and took a better look at the scenery. The trees looked more pretty than unsettling since the fog lifted.

"Hey Tina," May said and turned towards the Huntress, receiving a short 'hmm' from her, "there are a few things that have been on my mind."

"What is it?" Platina asked and tilted her head.

"How come this place is called 'The Forest of Death'?" She asked. The curious look on Tina's face transformed into one of grim and sorrow.

"Oh, well…" She hesitated for a second, "about ten or fifteen years ago, there was a plan to expand Haven to the ground below the cliffs. One of the big problems was the Grimm, obviously." The forest began looking eary again as she recalled the origins of the name.

"The place was always known for being incredibly dangerous. It had a super high concentration of Grimm, so a ton of Huntsmen and Huntresses were sent into the forest to clear them, but it didn't turn out so well. Seven people died here that day…"

May gulped. "Seven people?!" She thought, realizing how appropriate the name of the forest was. A haunting Nevermore screech rang through the air, which sounded very close and added onto the uneasiness that was building in the both of them.

"That's pretty heavy." She stated.

"Yeah, since then there hasn't been any orders to send people into the forest."

"Until now." May finished. "I wonder why Lionheart would do that. Well, uh, do you have any clue on why we have these?" She pulled the old-timey scroll out of the pocket of her jacket.

"I really have no idea." Platina answered. "That part is just kinda weird."

May tucked her's back into her pocket and continued her series of questions.

"And what's with the whole fighting thing, what's the point?"

Platina widened her eyes and tilted her head as she began hypothesizing.

"It's probably to create balanced teams?" She suggested. "Like, the more powerful you are, the weaker your teammates?"

May brought her right arm up as if she was flexing underneath her jacket sleeve and smiled. "Well, with you and me on a team together, I don't know how they can really balance it out."

"Yeah, everyone here seems really strong." Platina remarked. May had her strength and semblance, Reese has her unique weapon and fighting style, and as much as she hated to admit it, Lukas had his teleportation and intelligence.

A person fell from a tree a few yards from the two girls and landed with one knee and one hand on the ground. It was a girl with platinum blonde hair and a dark skin tone, wearing a yellow robe, black pants and shoes, and a red sash around her waist.

"Well, I'd say you haven't even seen strong yet, Platina." Arslan said as she stood up.

"Hey, Arslan!" Platina cheered and a happy expression appeared on her face. The three girls walked up to each other.

"Hey, you're the girl from the airship, right?" May asked when she recognized the girl who was talking to Platina.

"Yeah, my name's Arslan." She said and crossed her arms.

"Well Arslan, I'm May." She introduced herself as she bent one leg and placed her hands on her hips. "Tina's partner."

"Nickname already?" Arslan asked Tina.

"Heh, yeah…" Platina rubbed the back of her head, not knowing how she should've responded. "So wait, do you have a partner yet?" She asked.

"Actually…" She turned to a tree behind her and a boy with tanned skin, black hair, and amber eyes, wearing a yellow sash over a dark blue vest, gray pants, black boots and fingerless gloves, and a dark gray necklace.

"Bolin and I had a signal. We planned on being on the same team a long time ago."

"Smart," Tina remarked with a smirk.

"Thanks, I'm the one who thought of it." Bolin clarified in his deeper voice, smiling over to Arslan. She scoffed and put on a toothy grin while shaking her head in response.

"So, how is this gonna work?" May asked, "Like, a 2V2, or..?"

"We actually don't want to fight," Arslan answered and waved one of her hands at her waist, "we just want to get to the temple."

"Speaking of which," Bolin began as he turned and pointed to a small incline that overlooked what seemed to be a drop, "if you go just over that hill, you can see it."

"Really?" Platina didn't know why, but the fact that they were so close to their destination enlightened her with a feeling of happiness and excitement.

She ran past Arslan and Bolin and dashed up the hill. There it was, about a mile away, tucked underneath some tall trees was a wooden two-story building with a red, arced divider and roof. The other three Huntsmen marched their way up the hill as well.

"Finally!" May exclaimed. "I was starting to think we'd never find it."

"Shall we be on our way?" Arslan asked as she crossed her arms.

"All right, let's go!" Tina cheered.

* * *

Reese glided through the air on her hoverboard, still mad at Nadir for being such a miserable excuse for a Huntsman.

 _"God, why'd I have to get stuck with him?"_ She thought to herself. _"The ONE person who doesn't even know what his semblance is! He cheated his way in. He doesn't belong here."_ She slowed down to walking speed by a tree that had a patch of small, blue flowers around it. She let out an exasperated sigh and held her head with her right hand.

 _"Maybe I shouldn't have left him alone in this place."_ She realized, a slight feeling of guilt creeping into her heart. _"All right, I'll go_ apologize _, then we'll find this stupid temple."_ She decided and brought her hand to her waist, tightening it into a fist.

A shriek of fear rang throughout the forest. It was a bit higher pitched, but undoubtedly human. It came from where Reese had left Nadir.

"Damn it…" She swore under her breath. She pushed off the ground, and leaned as far forward as possible.

She was traveling as fast as her weapon could go: about 20 miles per hour. A flurry of gunshots could be heard far away, and a loud crash followed. In the distance, she saw a single tree topple over.

Nadir was scrambling desperately to evade the attacks of the Boarbatusk Grimm. He rolled to his right and the boar stomped right past him; squealing at the top of its lungs. He aimed his assault rifle up and fired another burst of shots - none of which seemed to do any good. The Grimm turned back towards the Huntsman and began charging at him. He transformed his rifle into a sword and prepared to attack the incoming beast. He swung it downward, but the hard armor of the monster deflected the blade with ease. The Boarbatusk flicked its head forward and slammed its two long, curved tusks into Nadir's, sending him flying and causing his body to flicker with his bright-pink aura.

He crashed into a tree and dropped to a sitting stance. He placed a hand on his knee and pushed himself up. He raised his head and the Grimm began rolling in place; kicking up dirt and rocks as it prepared to attack him. Finally, it started to move at full speed towards Nadir. All he could manage to do is raise his weapon, close his eyes, and hope this attack didn't kill him.

Nadir felt no impact. No bone-crushing force hit him. He slowly opened his eyes to see his savior. Reese maneuvered in between him and the Boarbatusk; using her legs and hoverboard to hold back the monster, and her arms were bent backward and pressing up against the tree.

"Damn it, what are you doing? Get out of here." She grunted as she struggled to keep the monster back.

Nadir stared in wonder for just a second, then he nodded his head, ducked underneath her arm, and began running away. Reese pumped her legs as hard as she could - a fire erupted in her thighs - then activated the shockwave function of her hoverboard; sending the Grimm flying back. She hopped on the board and began gliding towards the Boarbatusk, then she kickflipped and fired the weapon. A small explosion ignited in the air and knocked the Grimm of its balance.

Reese stopped and pulled the board apart at the center. It folded over to form two machine pistols with small knives at the end. She turned and held down the triggers of the pistols; spraying the beast with a flurry of dust. The Boarbatusk barely even flinched as it turned around to charge the Huntress again. Reese put the weapon back together, hopped back onto the board, and began gliding towards the Grimm. She grabbed onto its right tusk with both hands, swung her legs around, and delivered a second shockwave to the side of the monster. It sprawled on it's back a yard or two away. She quickly glided to the downed Grimm, grabbed the board, and stabbed the belly of the beast with the blades.

The monster gave out a loud, pained squeal as Reese tore all the way down its body. It stopped struggling suddenly and began dissipating into a shadowy mist. Reese whipped around and mounted her hoverboard again; speeding in the direction that her partner ran. He soon came into view, still running at his top speed, which was slow compared to the board. As she sped past him, she took hold of his hand and torso and lifted him onto the hoverboard.

The sudden force of being placed on the hoverboard and the increase in speed jolted Nadir back into reality. He stared at Reese's face from behind in awe as they both sped away from the battlefield. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. The two stayed silent as they sped deeper into the forest.

* * *

Tiffany could see the structure clearly through her scope, every single detail - the cracks in the aging wood and stone, the spider webs hanging in between the levels, the moss and vines growing up the walls, and the chipping of the red paint of the roofs. She lowered her rifle and the temple returned to its normal size.

 _"Geez...I've been waiting here for this long and nobody's come by?"_ She thought to herself after she let out a sigh.

She flipped her left leg over the thick tree branch she was sitting on and slid down to hang upside down from her legs. Her hair fell from her eyes and her vision cleared up a bit as she looked back into scope.

 _"I wonder who's gonna end up being my partner? Maybe,_ someone _I've already met?"_ She began to wonder. _"Tina seems nice enough, maybe a bit quirky. Reese is more cool and confident, I think. I can't really tell how strong either of them_ are _, but to get into this school they've got to be talented. And that pink-haired girl, May…"_

"Hey," A deep voice that came from above interrupted her thoughts.

She glanced up from her scope in surprise. A tall boy was crouched on the thick branch above her. He had black hair, a black cloak, a gray jacket with a symbol that resembled a shuriken with four bolts of lightning in the middle across its side, darker gray pants and black boots.

Tiffany let the grip she had on the branch go and pushed off with one of her legs. She rolled as she landed on the ground and brought Toxic Valentine up to where the boy was, but nothing was in the crosshairs of her weapon. How could that be? She only took her eyes off of him for a split second. A few soft footsteps came from behind the tree and caught Tiffany's attention. Lukas slowly emerged from behind the tree while giving her a cold look.

"You're her, right? The one who was trained by Arsenic Myrtle?" The Huntsman asked in a serious tone. Tiffany stood up and took a step back, readying her weapon as she did so. She knew she had to be careful. There's no telling if this guy has a grudge against her teacher or something.

"Yes. What does it matter to you?" She asked, trying to mask the uneasiness in her voice. The Huntsman brought a sword out from underneath his hood.

"I've been looking for you. You are the only one in this forest who I want to fight."

* * *

The sound of the engine gradually died off as the airship slowly descended towards the ground. Hawk Valenzuela and Professor Lionheart stepped off the ship and onto a small decline leading down to the silky grass on the cliffside. They slowly made their way behind the airship and down a small path that took them to the forest floor. Both of them walked with their hands behind their backs and they both kept a watchful eye out for the many Grimm that resided in the ominous forest.

"It feels odd, being here again." Professor Valenzuela sparked the conversation. "Unsettling, even."

"Yes, it does. You can imagine how the children must feel," Lionheart replied, "being a place of such infamy."

"Out of curiosity, why did you choose this place?" The bird Faunus asked as he brought his arms to his side. "I mean, you know of the risks."

"Yes, I understand your concerns. You know the dangers of this forest better than anyone. The Grimm, the immense size, its winding maze of trees, they all make this place dangerous." The Headmaster raised his right hand to his chin and stroked his grizzled beard. "These students are going to be the new protectors of the world. Whether we like it or not, they will outlive and surpass us in time. It is our job to prepare them for whatever they have to face, and they need to be as strong as possible. Perhaps if they can survive in a place like this, it can reassure me of the strength of the new generation."

"Ah, I see…" Hawk trailed off as he watched a Nevermore fly overhead. They started going down a hill that led to a small area relatively clear of trees, then the forest thickened again.

"Do you disagree with my decision?" Professor Lionheart asked and raised an eyebrow.

Hawk sighed and replied with, "Leonardo, you're a great and wise man. For all of my Huntsman career, you've been an amazing teacher and leader. You've _almost_ never led me astray, so I have much trust in you. I just hate having to question you at all."

The ancient temple came into view from behind the edge of the rocky wall that surrounded one side of it.

"This place sure does bring back memories, doesn't it?" Leonardo reminisced as he pushed the door of the building open.

The inside had a hardwood floor that seemed to hold up better than the rest of the building over the years, a central pillar that was made of a darker wood, a stone statue of a god-like entity against the back wall behind two large, wooden chairs.

They slowly paced their way across the room to sit in the two chairs, but they stopped when they realized two other people were already occupying the seats. Through the shadows, they saw two figures. One was a girl with long, white hair with a green patch on the right side, a green and black jacket, green leg armor pieces and black boots. The other was a figure fully cloaked in black, except for his face. He had layered black hair and black eyes.

"Finally, I was beginning to get bored." Lukas stood up and glared the two professors in the eyes.

"Well, what a surprise. We certainly didn't expect anyone to get here before us." Hawk commended the two students; impressed with their ability to navigate the forest and locate the temple that quickly. Lukas lifted his cloak slightly and revealed the scroll in his hand. He tossed it to the eagle Faunus and sat back down on the seat.

"My name is Lukas Augite. I fought two," His eyes narrowed as he took a short pause, "and won two." Professor Lionheart and Professor both exchanged a glance of recognition for the boy, then turned back to the two students.

"So you're Professor Valenzuela," Tiffany stated in a regal voice; raising both of her eyebrows, "Arsenic told me a lot about you."

"Oh, that must mean you are Tiffany." Hawk assumed as he bowed his head slightly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise." She smiled and crossed her arms. "The only battle I had was against Lukas, and I lost."

Behind the two professors, the door creaked open. They turned around to see that four more students had arrived. Along with May and her blue-haired friend, there were two other students that Hawk only recognized because they were on the airship.

"We're here!" Platina cheered as she threw up her arms; her face beaming with excitement and pure joy.

"Hey, Hawk." May greeted with a friendly grin.

"It appears that we have some talented Huntsman and Huntresses this year." Professor Lionheart said with a smile as he brought his hands to his waist. "Tell us, how did all of you do?"

May put on a toothy smile and pushed up her pink hair. "May Vermillion, remember the name. I won my only fight."

Platina, who was extremely cheerful just a moment ago, let out a groan and dropped to her knees, then to the floor on her side. "Platina Steel here, the girl who lost two fights."

Arslan pointed to herself and said, "I'm Arslan Altan," then she pointed to her partner and continued, "and he's Bolin Hori. We only fought each other, and I won."

"Say, isn't that Vermillion girl…" Professor Lionheart whispered as he leaned over to Hawk.

"Yep," Professor Valenzuela confirmed the Headmaster's suspicions, "that's Krystal's daughter, alright."

The old man placed his hands behind his back and lifted his head up. "It seems we have an interesting year ahead of us."

* * *

"We're finally here." Reese sighed in an almost raspy voice. She stopped at the base of the stairs that led up to the entrance of the temple. Nadir hopped off of the hoverboard and stared up at the building with a nervous look on his face.

"Listen, Reese," He began as he turned to the skater who was sitting down on her board. She flicked her head back to look at him with widened eyes and a straight, closed mouth.

"I'm really sorry...about not helping you out back there, and for you having to be stuck with me."

Reese put a hand on her knee and pushed herself up with a sigh.

"It's fine." She said. She kicked her hoverboard up and caught it with one hand. "Let's just get in there and tell the Headmaster about our situation." She began walking towards the mossy, stone steps.

"Tell him about what now?" The Huntsman asked in a confused tone. Reese stopped at the very first step and turned her head.

"The whole thing about you not being ready to be a Huntsman. About how someone else purposely lost to you so you could get here." She said in an unusually cold tone for her. She turned back to the building and began marching up the steps towards the door.

"W-wait!" Nadir yelled after her and ran up the stairs to maneuver in front of her. She looked up at him with an unamused expression as she crossed her arms. "Please! You can't tell them!" He pleaded with her.

"What? No! The way you got here was wrong. We have to tell them and fix this." Reese placed an arm on Nadir's chest and forced him aside. He let out a grunt and watched as she stormed up the rest of the steps.

"Wait just a minute!" He raised his voice; jumping up the steps and grabbing Reese by her black, fingerless glove. She stopped as soon as her hand was grabbed, just before her other hand reached the door. She was taken aback by the boy's sudden bravery, since all he seemed to be so far is anxious.

"I know that maybe what I did was wrong, but this is what I wanted for my whole life!" He stressed every word with a new kind of passion Reese hadn't seen in him before, and his eyes held a certain look of conviction. "If I get kicked out of this place, I can't go back and face my family! I just want to be a Huntsman, can't you understand?!"

Something about his speech sparked a feeling inside of Reese. Her heart began to lift as a feeling of awe filled her whole body, her face softened, her eyes widened, and her mouth hung slightly agape. His words reminded her of something Platina told her long ago, at the beginning of their friendship. She envisioned what she looked like back then in front of Nadir.

 _"I'll show you, I'll become the world's greatest Huntress!"_ Tina yelled all that time ago.

Reese let her eyes shut and put on a smile of both remembrance of the past and friendliness towards her partner.

"Yeah, I can understand." She answered softly. Nadir loosened his grip and his expression switched from one of aggression back to confusion.

"Come on, let's go." She kept her new gentle tone of voice and approached the door. "Oh, and let's just keep this within our team. Might be a bad thing if the wrong person found out." She pushed the door open and took her first step inside.

The place seemed packed with Huntsman and Huntresses in groups of two, four, and a few packs of six. Most were having private conversations, several looked up to Reese and Nadir, some were comparing or sharpening their weapons, and one group of four were playing a card game in the corner.

"Reese!" Tina's distinguishable voice sang in her ears like music. The whimsical Huntress jogged up from Reese's left, along with May and two others.

"Hey Platina, have any luck with the partner?" Reese asked.

"The one and only," May replied for Tina as she ran her right hand through the back of her hair.

"Nice. This is Nadir, my partner." Reese signaled over to the boy with her head. Nadir gave the best smile he could manage and waved at the four other students.

"Hi. I'm Arslan." The blonde said as she stepped forward and gave a confident, friendly smile.

"Reese, nice to meet you," Reese replied with a similar smile, "who are you?" She asked and turned to the tan boy beside Arslan.

"I'm Bolin." He said and crossed his arms. "I'm Arslan's partner, best friend, sidekick, punching bag, really whatever title suits her at any given moment."

Reese held her fist up to her mouth and let out a giggle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone move closer to her.

"I see the final students have arrived." She turned to the person and saw it was Professor Lionheart.

"Great, we're the last ones?" The skater moaned and slouched her back.

"I'm afraid so," He confirmed after letting out a small huff of laughter, "but it is no big deal. What is important is your battle record. How did you do in the fights?"

"I only fought one. I won and Nadir over there lost." She answered; signaling to her partner.

"Hmm, well done." He said with a smile. "Alright students, we are going back to the ship! Wrap up anything you are doing and get ready, we embark in ten minutes!" The Headmaster called to the rest of the students.

Nobody got up or acknowledged him immediately, but in time, one by one, they started to get up and funnel out of the building. Reese drifted her gaze towards Platina, who was having a chat with her partner. She smiled to herself as she thought about how far Tina had come.

 _"You're one step closer to your dream, Tina. Keep working hard at it._ "

* * *

"Sun Wukong, Scarlet David, Sage Ayana, and Neptune Vasilias." Professor Lionheart called to the crowd of students.

One at a time, the four Huntsmen marched up the stairs and onto the stage. First, a monkey Faunus with long, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing an open, white jacket, jeans, tennis shoes, and red and black gauntlets. The second member, a boy with red hair that covers one of his eyes, wearing a red coat over a white t-shirt, white pants, and black boots. Finally, the last two boys; one with a darker complexion, green hair and a white jacket, the other with blue hair and a red vest appeared on stage.

"Your four had a total of one win, one loss, and a draw. From this day forth, you will be known as Team SSSN." The headmaster continued, then took a short pause. "Led by Sun Wukong." The monkey Faunus and the boy all the way across the line with the blue hair leaned across and gave each other a fist bump, then the whole team made their way to the right, off the stage.

"Arslan Altan, Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris, and Nadir Shiko." Again, the members came onto the stage one at a time. "You four had a total of two wins and two losses. Starting today, you will be known as Team ABRN. Led by Arslan Altan."

"Naturally." The blonde said to herself, but still loud enough for her teammates to hear. They exited right and Lionheart continued with the lineup of teams.

"Platina Steel," Before he even revealed the second name, Platina dashed on stage; brimming with excitement. Finally, she's been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, now she was going to meet her new team.

"Lukas Augite," Her heart sank a little when she heard the name. No, it couldn't be...it was.

There was a small push of wind at her left and the boy cloaked in black that she fought in the forest was suddenly at her side. Her heart began to fill with a tinge of anger, but she tried her best to keep herself under control. She looked up to the Huntsman and realized that he hasn't even glanced down at her yet, let alone acknowledge her. That only worsened her feelings.

"Tiffany Myrtle, May Vermillion." The Headmaster finished. In just a few seconds, both Huntresses came up the stairs and took a position next to Lukas.

"The four of you had a total of three wins and three losses. From this day forth, you will operate as Team PLTM. Led by…" It was probably all in Tina's head, but there seemed to be a suspenseful pause.

 _"Who's gonna be the leader?"_ She thought to herself. _"Lukas is such a great fighter, and he's also really smart, even if he is a jerk. May is the daughter of a supposedly 'legendary' Huntress, maybe that would make it a good idea for her to be the leader…"_

"Platina Steel." Lionheart finished. Platina was suddenly hit with a wave of shock. Was it really her? She looked to her left at her partners. While Lukas was still facing forward with an emotionless face, May was leaning forward, giving her usual smile and a thumbs up, and Tiffany had a small, closed smile. A mixed feeling of responsibility and pure joy surrounded her entire body.

"Say, doesn't this team remind you of another you know?" Professor Lionheart leaned in and whispered to Hawk. The professor envisioned his old team next to Team PLTM. May looked especially like her mother.

"Yes, they do."


	7. Fresh Start

_"Platina…"_

The echoey voice sounded very far off. Through the darkness, Tina searched for the source, but she couldn't see a thing. A long silence followed the voice. Maybe it was just her imagination.

 _"Platina…"_ The voice grew slightly louder and held more of an echo. It sounded a little familiar, and it came from all around, almost as if it was in her head.

"Platina!" She pried herself awake and was greeted by a blurry image of a girl with white and green hair.

"Huh?.." She groggily tried to respond to the person hovering over her. Tina's vision began to clear and her new teammate's face came into focus.

"Come on, we have to get ready." Tiffany told her as she stood up.

Platina tried to push herself up with her arms and raise her head. She was in a room with wooden frames and thick canvas screens as walls, a smooth hardwood floor, a sliding shoji door just ahead, two push-out windows on the wall left of her, and a small box screen light hanging from the roof. She looked to her left and saw that Lukas and Tiffany were both sitting on their beds wearing the school uniform - a black and light gray jacket with a white band around their left arm. Lukas was also wearing black pants and his cloak, whereas Tiffany had a checkered skirt and light gray, knee-high socks.

May came scrambling out of the bathroom wearing the skirt and a black bra - her toothbrush still in her mouth - and pulled a white t-shirt over her body. She hurried over to her bed to grab the jacket and put it on while she rushed back to the bathroom.

Seeing this, Tina suddenly sprung into action. She grabbed her set of folded school clothes and ran into the bathroom, narrowly dodging past May as she left it. She closed the door and quickly replaced her pajamas with the uniform, then she hurriedly brushed her teeth and rushed back out the door.

"All right, what's first?" She asked in a panicked voice as she made her way to her bed and began putting her shoes on.

"Why are you asking us?" Lukas said in an annoyed tone as he looked up at Platina. "You're the leader; you have the schedule."

"Oh, right…" She realized and reached around her bed for the piece of paper that she put there last night. "It, uh, says here that our first class is Grimm Studies with Professor Myrtle at 9:15, uh, what time is it now?" She asked timidly.

"It's 8:47 right now, so we still have some time left." Tiffany answered her question with a smile.

"Whaaat?" May moaned from across the room, stretching her right arm into the air. "You made it sound like we were going to be late. I'm gonna catch some extra Z's." She flopped onto her bed with a light 'poof' and closed her eyes.

"Or, alternatively, you could start unpacking, just like the rest of us should be doing." Lukas suggested to the three girls. May let out a groan and thrust her body up, then let it fall forward back onto the bed.

"You're probably right." Tiffany agreed as she got up from her bed. "We haven't done that yet."

"Alright, then let's get to it!" Tina cheered softly while giving a bright smile.

They spent the next 30 minutes or so decorating their room, and by the time they got done, they had a hamper at the foot of each of their beds, a studying table in the corner of the room, a poster or two on the walls, a large dresser with a TV across from their beds next to the door, and by each of their beds was a nightstand that had various different items on it for each person. Platina's had a picture of her next to August from when they first met.

"Team PLTM's first mission: accomplished!" Platina beamed a toothy grin.

"Alright, we should get to class now. We don't want to be late after all." Tiffany stated.

The four teammates lined up at the door and May flung it open. They were met with a gust of wind as someone came blurring by. They all looked down the hallway with an expression of shock on their faces and examined the person for a brief moment. He was a man with black hair with a few streaks of white in it, wearing a black and green suit and black pants and shoes.

"Is that...Arsenic Myrtle?..." Lukas asked quizzically while he stared with squinted eyes.

"Yeah, that's him." Tiffany confirmed, her voice also filled with question. "But why...oh, shoot! We're two minutes late!" She exclaimed after looking down at her scroll, displaying 9:17 on the top. She began running towards the teacher and was soon followed by Platina, then Lukas, then May.

"Wait, you guys mean the legendary hero, Arsenic Myrtle?!" Tina asked excitedly as her face began to glow with awe and excitement. "I can't believe we're having him as a teacher!"

The professor whipped around to the right and down a staircase, so the team did the same. At the bottom, both the teacher and the students turned to the right and headed out an open doorway to a courtyard with four concrete walkways that connected the living quarters and the classrooms. He entered the building on the other side and the students followed close behind him. He took a sharp right and sprinted up another flight of stairs. The four students did the same and followed him down another hallway.

He threw open a sliding door, and Team PLTM did their best to chase after him. He began to close the door, but just before he managed to do so, Platina, Tiffany, and May dived through the door just in time. The three, who toppled over each other and were now lying in a tangled pile, glanced back to see Lukas still inside the hallway. Professor Myrtle shut the door practically in his face.

The three girls let out a collective, soft gasp. They got up and opened the door, but he wasn't there. They all turned around and realized that he was standing behind them. Even though Tiffany and Platina were breathing heavily, Lukas and May seemed unfazed by the chase they just endured.

"Sorry, students," The professor apologized as he dusted off his suit, "you'll have to forgive me. This is only my second year of teaching, and technically the first was only a half a year."

He made his way to behind an oak wood desk that had various papers and a silver rifle strewn about it. Team PLTM ambled over to four empty seats next to the newly formed Team ABRN.

"What took you guys so long?" Reese whispered over to Platina.

"We don't know, we just lost track of time, I guess." She replied to her friend.

They both sat straight up and began paying attention to the Professor. Tina finally got a good look at him. Along with his black and white hair, he had bold silver eyes and a chiseled, handsome chin.

"Alright, this is Grimm Studies." Arsenic began. "I'm sure you all know what a Grimm is, so I won't bother explaining it in too much detail right now. Instead, I'm curious; who here has had any especially bad experiences with a Grimm?"

A silence fell over the room as he asked the question. Eventually, a hand full of students gathered the courage to raise their hands; among them were Platina, Arslan, and Bolin.

"I am sorry for whatever happened to you all. I know that things like that can be hard to admit or talk about. That is why it's so important to understand these creatures; their weaknesses, their strengths. To hold them back and protect the people." The Professor began going on a speech; his voice never wavering away from his orotund tone. Platina began to tune out from what he was saying, mesmerized by the fact that they had a Huntsman like Arsenic Myrtle as a teacher.

"Platina?" The calling of her name snapped her back to reality. "Is there a Platina here?" Professor asked the crowd of students.

"Uh, sorry! Here." Her voice quivered slightly from the embarrassment.

"Steel, huh?" Arsenic muttered to himself, pondering her last name.

Before Tina knew it, the first bell rang and the class was over. The students began to pack up their things and funnel out of the room. Tina, May, and Lukas were just about to leave as well, but stopped at the door.

"Where's Tiffany?" May asked when she realized she wasn't with them. They turned back to the classroom and spotted her having a chat with the professor.

"I'm going on ahead, you two wait for her." Lukas suggested to Tina and May. He walked off, and the two Huntresses could do nothing but stare. They turned towards Tiffany and Arsenic and began to approach them.

"I gotta say, Arsenic, you did well for the first day." She commended the Huntsman.

"Hey, Tiff. Do you know the professor or something?" May asked the Huntress. Tiffany turned towards her teammates and gave them a short stare before answering.

"Oh, uh, yes. I do." She shifted her weight and took in a short, deep breath. "Platina, May, this is my cousin."

"Yo." He greeted the Huntresses blandly, giving a smile that was much more confident than anything Tiffany could pull off. There was a long, drawn-out silence between the three students and the teacher. Platina was the first to speak up.

"Whaaat?!" She exclaimed in a tone of voice that was a mix of excitement and bewilderment. "You mean you're the cousin of the legendary hero, Arsenic Myrtle?!" She pointed at Tiffany with one hand while holding her cheek with the other.

"Wait, what do you mean 'legendary hero?'" May asked as she looked back and forth from Tiffany to Platina with a confused expression.

"You don't know?" Her voice almost sounded like she was offended. "He's incredible! He's completed countless S-ranked missions for things like protecting royalty from assassins! He once fought off more than 70 Beowolves from attacking a village!"

"It was around 100." He chimed in with a half bragging voice.

"He even helped liberate an entire island from a dictator to have them join the Kingdom of Haven!" Platina finished and stared at Arsenic with wide, excited eyes while balling her fists and leaning forward slightly. May quickly whirled around and copied Platina's stance and expression almost perfectly.

"Woah, is that true?!" She asked in an excited tone that was also similar to Platina's. "Wait a second," Her face returned to normal and her attention shifted over to Tiffany, "your guys' last name sounds familiar. Now that I think about it, are you guys somehow related to the Myrtle Clothing Company?"

"Uh, yeah," Tiffany confirmed, rubbed the back of her head, and gave an awkward smile, "daughter of the founder."

"Oh my god, this is incredible!" May exclaimed as she threw her arms around Tiffany, nearly knocking the two Huntresses over in the process. "Can you get me a discount on clothes?!"

"Ah, n-no, I can't!" Tiffany let out as she struggled to break free from May.

"Do you and Professor Myrtle go on adventures together?" Tina asked ecstatically, wrapping her arms around one of Tiffany's. "Oh, please, you have to take me on one!"

"Hey now kids," Arsenic put a hand on both Tiffany's and Platina's shoulder and tried to separate the two, "you two aren't the only ones being overwhelmed."

Tina and May stopped for a second and looked up to Tiffany. They immediately backed up and gave an identical expression; a toothy grin, a tilted head, and their right hand rubbing the back of their head.

"You girls should get to your next class." Professor Myrtle looked down at his cousin with a grin, which was met with a smile of her own.

"Okay, professor. Come on, let's go." May said as she signaled over to the door. She and Tina jogged out of the room. Tiffany stayed back, watching from behind with a smile.

"Hey, you have some pretty cute teammates…" Arsenic whispered loudly over to his cousin, crossing his arms and giving her a suggestive look.

She kicked him in the back of the leg; knocking him to his knees, then she hit him as hard as she could on the top of his head, sending a shock through his body and bringing a tear to his eye. She returned to her previous prissy expression and stature and started to chase after her teammates, leaving Arsenic behind to wilt in pain.


	8. Expectations

The sound of the two swords clashing together echoed throughout the small arena as the two swordsmen fought tooth and nail with each other. Nadir was trying his hardest to hit Lukas, but every time he attacked, Lukas would block it or dodge it effortlessly. Lukas' face had a blank, almost bored expression.

Nadir jumped up and swung his sword down. Lukas sidestepped the attack with ease. Nadir turned and slashed at him a second time, but again, he simply stepped back and the attack missed. Lukas brought Uchimitsu up and thrusted it in a stabbing motion at Nadir. The curved tip grazed the side of his face.

Nadir stepped back and held his face with one hand. A glimmer of both fear and rage reflected in his eyes. He grabbed his sword with both hands and brought it above his head, then he swung down with all his strength. His sword clashed with Lukas' and the two stayed locked for a long second. With a quick maneuver of his blade, Lukas sent Nadir's sword into the air. He slashed back down at his face, across his eye. He then cut an X into Nadir's chest, then he kicked Nadir in the chest and sent him flying with a loud groan of pain.

Nadir's body sprawled on the ground several feet away. He tried to push himself back up, but he froze when he felt the cold tip of Lukas' sword push up against his throat. Lukas was way too fast for him to keep up with. He didn't even see him run to him.

"Well done, Mr. Augite." Professor Valenzuela congratulated the Huntsman while he walked towards the middle of the arena. "Students, in the week that we've had this class, I've seen some impressive individuals, namely Lukas here and...May; which I was expecting of you anyway."

He looked up to the Huntress sitting in the stands next to the remainder of Teams PLTM and ABRN and chuckled to himself softly.

"If I were any of you, I'd make those two the ones you aim to best."

Lukas stood up and sheathed his sword, then turned and began walking toward the center of the ring. Just before he left earshot, he stopped and glanced coldly back at Nadir.

"It's a miracle a Huntsman like you made it here." He callously insulted Nadir before he turned back and continued forward.

Nadir glanced up at the holographic aura gauges displayed on the far wall. Pathetic, he barely even made a dent in that guy's aura, meanwhile he was sitting at below 15 percent. He began to feel a sinking feeling in his heart, but he tried to shake it off by getting up and limbering towards the stands.

"Alright, it looks like we have time for one more match." Professor Valenzuela announced to the students. "Would anyone like to-."

"Wait," he was cut off by a voice from behind. He turned around to see Lukas walking towards him. "I want another fight."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just have one?" Hawk asked.

"I wasn't satisfied with it." Lukas retorted. Hawk focused his gaze at the displayed aura levels of the last match.

"Yes, well, it seems you were barely scratched." He chuckled to himself and turned back to the Huntsman. "Very well, if that's what you wish. Is there anyone in particular that you would like to face?"

Professor Valenzuela shifted his eyes from student to student; imagining fights between Lukas and each one of them that he hadn't faced yet. May would do exceptionally well against him, he imagined. Another student, Platina, was also a great fighter. He began to worry if they accidentally made Team PLTM a little too powerful.

"You." Lukas finally spoke up. Hawk turned to face the Huntsman expecting him to be pointing at someone in the crowd of viewers, but was surprised to see that he was staring at him.

"Me? You realize that I'm the teacher, right?" He asked in a confused voice.

"Yeah, so I bet you're the strongest one here." I wagered, his voice full of confidence. "I want to fight you."

Hawk's beak turned into a sly smile at its base and he laughed lightly to himself.

"Alright, if you insist." He shrugged his shoulders, turned around, and began to make his way to the exit. He stopped just before the doorway that led to the hall and placed his hand on the wall. A flash of blue light outlined his hand, then a holographic keypad appeared above it. He rapidly typed in a 6-digit code and the wall next to him opened up into a little storage room.

"Just don't think I'll go easy." The professor turned his head and told his student.

He grabbed a sword off the wall and fastened it to the left side of his waist, then he took a smaller, dagger-like weapon and strapped it over his shoulder. He turned back towards Lukas and the hidden door slowly shut behind him. He positioned himself to be opposite from Lukas on a small circle in the middle of the room.

He pulled the sword out of its sheath and held it out in front of him with both hands. It was a curved, single-edged, silver blade with black ripples at the back with a black, circular cross guard and a hilt that was silver with a black cloth wrapped around it.

"A katana?" Tiffany inquired as she looked over to her teammates.

"Not exactly," May responded without taking her eyes off the Faunus, "that's actually called a daitō. The blades a little shorter and a little less curved than a katana." She stared at the professor with a certain fire in her eyes and a toothy grin.

"You sure do know a lot about weapons." Arslan commented from across Platina and Reese on May's right side.

"My dad was a blacksmith, after all. Hawk's weapon is something that he liked to call a 'one-and-a-half-handed weapon'. The shorter blade makes it a lot easier to handle, so you don't need to always have both hands on it." She explained as her smile grew wider. She leaned forward, brought her knee up, and rested her arm on it.

"Excited?" Reese asked her.

"Yeah, I am. Someone's finally gonna put Lukas in his place."

Lukas spread his legs apart, pulled out his own sword, held it backward in his right hand, and raised up to his chest. For a second, the two stood perfectly still; eyeing each other as they waited for the other to move.

Lukas made the first move. He swiftly leaped as close to the professor as he could. Hawk shifted his sword off to his right side and swung at Lukas. The student ducked under the blade, then he flipped his sword around in his hand and brought it forward and up for a stabbing attack. In a quick motion with his sword, Hawk blocked the attack and spun around to the side of Lukas. He brought his daitō up to prepare for an overhead swing, but just before he could complete the motion, Lukas teleported a few feet ahead of Hawk and the attack missed.

Lukas whipped around with a fired up expression and swung his arm forward. A knife came flying out of his sleeve. The professor managed to knock the knife away from him with his sword, then he refocused his attention to where his opponent was, but he was gone.

Hawk noticed the ground below him begin to reflect a faint glow of yellow. He looked up to see Lukas upside down in the air above him; reaching out to him with his sword that was surrounded by electricity dust. The two exchanged two different glances. Hawk's was one of shock and surprise, while Lukas showed fearlessness and determination.

Professor Valenzuela leaped back and Uchimitsu plunged into the ground; narrowly missing the Faunus. Using his sword to keep himself in place, Lukas swung his leg around and kicked the teacher across the face. Hawk reeled from the hit, then he regained his balance and brought his sword up. He was beginning to get serious.

The speed of the fight seemed to gradually pick up as it went on. Both Professor Valenzuela and Lukas seemed evenly matched in speed and maneuverability; each perfectly blocking and dodging the others attacks and getting in a few hits of their own. Hawk even did a good job keeping up with Lukas' teleportation. Eventually, they crossed swords and began struggling to push each other back.

Hawk flashed a confident smile and in a quick, forceful action brought both his and Lukas' weapon above their heads, then - in an unexpected change of fighting style - he kicked Lukas in the stomach. Lukas flew back in the air. Lukas spun around once and threw out another knife, then he landed smoothly on the ground. Hawk prepared to dodge the knife, but it plunged into the floor at his feet.

 _"Whew, he missed."_ Hawk thought. He eased his stance and brought his Daitō to his side.

Lukas raised his head and revealed a cocky smile. Professor Valenzuela peered at Lukas with his eyes that were as sharp as an eagle's - wondering to himself why he was smiling like that. Hawk heard the distinct sound of dust activating below him. He glanced down and noticed a few lines along the blade of the knife that Lukas had thrown began to glow with a blue light. It grew brighter and brighter by the second.

 _"Ice dust?!"_ The Faunus realized. He took two quick steps left and then leaped as far away from the knife as he could.

An explosion of freezing cold ice erupted from the knife and engulfed Hawk's right arm; tugging him out of the motion and holding him in place. At that moment, Lukas teleported to the first knife he threw in the fight and forced it back into his wrist-mounted gadget in one fluent motion, then he broke into a sprint towards his trapped enemy. Professor Valenzuela hit the ice with his free hand then began to pull on his arm, desperately trying to free himself from the ice.

Lukas let out a confident yell and lurched his sword forward. Suddenly, in a quick motion, Hawk slipped out of his haori and whipped around to his right; leaving the sleeve of his jacket and his sword still trapped in the ice. He reached around his torso and grabbed the dagger on his back. He pulled it out and flipped it around in his left hand, then he jabbed Lukas in his torso. Lukas was blown back by the force of the swing that was concentrated into the tip of the blade, and when he landed he rolled twice before coming to a stop.

He looked up at the Faunus with eyes that beamed with a strange mix of anger, determination, and a faint tinge of hate. Hawk simply glared back with a calm expression.

"So, what's that?" Tiffany asked May, pointing to his dagger. Like Lukas' sword, it had no crossguard, but the blade was black and double-edged.

"Heh…" May chuckled to herself as she crossed her arms. "It's over. That's Hawk's Tantō. He only uses it when he gets serious, so Lukas doesn't stand a chance anymore." She finished in a confident tone while closing her eyes as she relaxed back into her seat.

Lukas stood up and held his sword out in front of him. It suddenly sparked with electricity again. He widened his stance and pointed Uchimitsu down by his side. He then flicked his left hand and held his knife out in front of him.

"That was a very clever use of dust, Mr. Augite." Hawk commended. He turned to one side of the students that surrounded them and continued, "You see students, dust is much more useful than for just firing your weapons. It can be used in a lot of ways, such as what you've just seen. Dust is one of many things that-"

He stopped as soon as he noticed Lukas disappeared. There was a faint gust of air behind him and he immediately snapped into action. He revolved around and bobbed under an overhead kick coming from Lukas. The cloaked Huntsman landed on the ground and twisted around for another kick. Hawk brought his tantō up and stopped the attack.

"Don't turn this into a lecture!" Lukas growled while he struggled with Hawk, his eyes glaring at him with annoyance.

Lukas flipped his sword around in his hand and swung it back at Hawk. The Faunus dodged back and retaliated with his dagger. The two took turns being on the offensive. While Hawk had an advantage in swordplay, Lukas' semblance let him overwhelm Hawk and get some good hits. After being thrown a short distance by the professor, Lukas ended up by the ice he created. He slashed towards Professor Valenzuela and a bolt of lightning shot from the sword. Hawk jumped out of the way and began to sprint towards Lukas. The student sunk to the ground and spun around; creating a circle of electricity around him that was moving outward along the ground. The professor flipped over the attack, landed right in front of Lukas, and slashed his tantō down at the student. Lukas vanished suddenly and the attack missed.

 _"I have you now!"_ Lukas screamed inside his own head as he appeared behind his enemy with a malicious smile on his face. He transformed his sword into its throwing star form and concentrated all his strength into hurling it forward. Just before he let go, three sharp pains pierced his chest like knives. He stopped the motion and dropped to the ground.

Hawk was standing with his arm outstretched to Lukas. Slowly, Lukas looked down at his chest to see three bird feathers sticking out of his jacket. He grabbed one of them and pulled it out. It felt hard and cold, like steel, and it was sharp at the edges. After a short second, it was squished in his fist as it turned into a normal feather.

"As I was saying, dust is one of many things that can turn the tide of battle." Hawk stated nonchalantly as he turned around and began to stride to the ice that had his sword trapped inside. He grabbed his overcoat, pulled it free, and put it on, then he took his weapon and freed it.

"Another such thing is semblance. Mr. Augite, while yours is quite unique, you have an over-reliance on it. After a while, you became somewhat predictable, and I began to see flaws and limitations in it." He said, examining his weapon. He brushed some ice off the blade, sheathed it, and continued, "However, I must commend you. That was an incredible displ-"

"Shut up!" Lukas shouted, cutting off the professor. His eyes burned with frustration and he was gritting his teeth hard. "This fight isn't over yet!" He transformed Uchimitsu into its original state and pointed it at the aura gauges to his right. The bar next to his name showed he had 16 percent remaining, just above the losing amount. He pointed the weapon at Hawk and his entire body crackled with a white glow.

The cling of a blade being drawn echoed through the room. A tense silence was all that was left after. The Faunus blew past Lukas in a flash - holding his sword off to his right. The two stood frozen for a long moment. Slowly, Lukas looked down at his chest. He dropped to one knee and clutched his jacket with his free hand.

"W-what was that?" Platina stammered as she looked onto the battlefield; eyes wide with shock.

Team ABRN and the rest of PLTM looked over to May for answers, but only found her staring with just as much shock as they were in.

"I...I don't know..." She said in a quiet voice. She shook her head and leaned back in her chair with a smile.

"But anyway, I told you guys, Lukas was gonna get trashed by Hawk no matter what!" She laughed.

Hawk sheathed his sword and began walking away from Lukas, and as he did May shifted her glance up to the aura displays.

 _"30 percent? It's hard for me to even get him that low...and he did it on his first try?"_ Even if she could hide her feelings of disappointment in herself from her friends, she couldn't deny it was there.

The bell rung and all the students got up and began shuffling out of the room. Lukas, now isolated in the middle of the room, pulled the other two feathers out of his jacket. He stayed kneeling there for a short while; looking down in silence. He hit the floor lightly with his fist as his frustration drowned out the sounds of the scurrying students.

* * *

Nadir sat at the table, resting his head on his hand while looking down at the school lunch that he was only picking at. His heart was still heavy with his loss from earlier, as well as what Lukas said to him after the match.

"Nadir?" A voice called out to him, breaking his emotionless bubble of thought. He glanced up to see Platina, May, and Tiffany staring at him concerningly. He shot quick looks from side to side and realized that his own team was doing the same.

"Oh, uh, yeah?" He said as he straightened his posture.

"Are you okay?" Arslan asked as she peered at him.

"Yeah, I'm...fine." He hesitated for a second, trying to plaster on a convincing smile.

"You just seem a bit down lately." Reese chimed in from his right.

"No, I promise, I'm-"

"Is it Lukas?" Platina cut him off in a soft tone. He turned to face her, caught off guard by her assumption. She looked genuinely concerned for someone she's barely even known a week. Something about her sincerity sparked something in his heart. He decided to tell the truth.

"Um…" His smile faded, "yeah...it is." He admitted as he scratched the back of his head. Most of the table let out a collective groan. Platina and Tiffany stayed quiet.

"Do you guys know what his deal is?" Bolin asked.

"I don't know, I can't figure him out." May replied as she crossed her arms and leaned back. "What did he do this time?"

"Oh, um…" All eyes were now on Nadir now, and he could feel the social pressure weighing on his shoulders. He didn't want to worry any of his friends, but he figured that they wouldn't just let him ignore the question.

"After the fight, he told me that it was a miracle that I got into the school."

The atmosphere at the table noticeably changed. Instead of looking worried, everyone looked pissed. May balled her right hand into a fist on the table. Slowly, a few flames erupted into life along her arm.

"Rrr...the nerve of that guy!" She growled and hit the table lightly; extinguishing the fire. "You know that's not true, right? You earned your way here, just like the rest of us."

Team ABRN all exchanged quick glances to each other, knowing that that technically wasn't true.

"Either way, I'd really love to kick his ass." Arslan and Bolin both stated at the same time. They turned to each other and shared a laugh.

"That was weird," Tiffany giggled.

"Yeah, well when you've been quote-unquote "friends" with someone for as long as we have things like that happen sometimes." Arslan explained.

"Oh, shut up, you love me." Bolin sarcastically retorted with a toothy smile.

"Guys," Tina finally spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to her. "I'm going to talk to Lukas."

Platina expected a response from someone then, but everyone stayed quiet and listened.

"I'll try to convince him to be nicer to everyone. Maybe after that, we can get to know him and he won't be so bad." She finished. May and Tiffany nodded. Arslan and Bolin gave reassuring smiles.

"I think that's a good idea." Reese agreed.

"I'd really appreciate that, Platina." Nadir said with a relieved sigh and smile.

The bell rang and the group of friends began to head to their next class. Remnant History in room 201 was run by Professor Luna - a beautiful, middle-aged woman who was kind and encouraging. She had long, black hair with a single white streak down her left side and blue eyes.

"Alright, class!" She announced in her usual cheery tone. "Today, after we watch the daily news, I'll have you turn to page 50 in your textbooks."

Tiffany preemptively flipped her book to page 50. To her right, May was leaning back and beginning to doze off. Platina and Lukas sat attentively as the room went dark and the screen on the far wall flashed on.

The news quickly went through the weather and dabbled in some politics. Eventually, it started going over some recent crime reports.

"Just like last week, another Faunus Civil Rights protest was cut short when White Fang members began attacking the innocent, as well as the police when they showed up. The organization has gotten more and more active over these past few months and they show no signs of slowing down. More on that later." The reporter spoke over a video of the incident.

A tense quiet hung in the air. Some of the Faunus in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"In other news, there have been two large-scale dust robberies in Anima this past month. The incidents are believed to be connected in some way by investigators. Evidence of the culprits have been few and minute, and authorities are scratching their heads at the mystery. The most damning piece of evidence found so far is this security footage of the second crime scene." She continued.

The screen switched away from the reporter and showed some low-quality footage of what looked like a dock with a lot of shipping containers. A person long, red hair who was dressed in black and holding a red sword walked into the frame. Two people wearing blue and gold armor followed behind him. The one in front looked up and pointed his sword at the camera. The two other people aimed their guns up at the camera. The screen then became nothing but static.

Platina didn't know why, but something about the video sent a small chill through her spine.

"Reports say that the armor of the two men in the back matches the description of a gang of seafaring criminals, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. The man in front remains unidentified." The reporter went on.

Platina shifted her eyes around the room. Tiffany was sitting up straight and May had completely fallen asleep. She looked right to check on Lukas. He was holding his head with his right hand while making a fist with his left. For some reason, he looked really agitated. Without warning, he let his hand fall the desk and then shot up and began storming towards the door.

"What the-?" Tina whispered under her breath.

Lukas flung the door open and swiftly shut it once he was outside.

"Wai...wha..?" Platina stammered with a flustered expression; quickly looking back and forth between the Professor and the door.

Professor Luna stared with a confused expression for a second, but in time she focused her gaze toward Platina. She gave a soft, encouraging smile and nodded her head towards the door. Platina stared back for a moment, then raised her hand to her chest and nodded. She got up and made her way to the door. She gently slid it open and stepped out. Closing the door behind her, she glanced in both directions for Lukas.

She caught a glimpse of his hood as he turned a corner to her left. She began jogging in his direction and turned the same corner. Lukas was a little further down the hall with his cloak waving behind him. Platina jogged a bit closer to him.

"Lukas," she called.

Almost like her voice had grabbed him from behind, Lukas stopped.

"What are you doing, and what was that?" Platina asked as soon as she reached him. Lukas turned around to face her.

"That was nothing," Lukas replied with a cold stare. "I just realized that I'm wasting my time here."

With that, he began walking down the hallway again. Platina, feeling kinda bad, was just about ready to call it quits there, but something in her gut held her in place.

"Lukas...what's going on with you?" She asked. Lukas stopped again, but he didn't turn back to the girl.

He shook his head. "That's none of your concern." He stated.

"But it is!" Tina reassured him, "You're a member of this team, just like May and Tiffany! Don't forget that I'm the leader, so I want to know what's going on!"

Lukas suddenly turned around to face Platina. His cloak twirled in the air as he did so.

"You're no leader." He coldly replied.

"What?" Tina growled, clearly annoyed.

"What you have is an empty title." He argued, "Being a leader is a characteristic. It's the ability to inspire others. You have to be able to shoulder the burdens of those who follow you. Even if they're not sure of the path ahead, you have to be. That's what it means to be a leader."

He turned to a window to his left. He could see the central courtyard and the rest of the school outside.

"From what I can tell, you don't have any of that. I can't imagine the other two see you as a leader, either. You're just...lame." He finished his speech. In his signature fashion, he was gone in an instant.

Platina ran up to where he used to be standing and looked out the window. She saw him walking away from from the building. She felt a small ache in her heart. It was an odd mix of anger, sadness, and realization. She knew that he was right.

"Well, that went well." Platina heard a voice from her right. She turned and found Professor Valenzuela walking towards her. She let out a small sigh.

"He's right, Professor." She moaned. She shook her head and looked away from him. "I shouldn't be leading this team…"

The professor shot Platina a precarious look. "Now, why would you say that?" He asked. Platina brought a hand to her chest.

"I'm not a leader. Any of the others would do so much better than me at that." She said as she let her hand fall to her side. "Tiffany was trained by Arsenic Myrtle, May is more powerful than I can ever hope to be, and Lukas...Lukas is just leagues above me. There isn't anything special about me. I'm just...lame." She gave a soft chuckle, "It's really nothing you would understand."

There was a short silence between the two. Platina averted her gaze away from the professor and didn't dare look him in his eyes.

"You know, I was just as lame as you are when I was in school." He finally replied. Tina glanced up in surprise; a new light glowing her eyes.

"You? I don't believe it." She brushed off the claim and crossed her arms.

"Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but it's true either way…" He stated in a matter-of-fact tone and brought his arms behind his back.

"But...but you beat Lukas; you're really strong!" She retorted in disbelief.

"Yes, and it was my own hard work and devotion to my training that led to that strength." He explained. "Anyone, even you, can reach my level, so long as you are willing to work for it."

Professor Valenzuela looked away for a long second. It seemed as if he was remembering something from a long time ago. He looked back at the Huntress.

"Lukas reminds me of one of my old teammates. I think that he'll come around eventually. You have to give it some time, however." He continued and gave the girl a warm smile. "In the meantime, though, you should work on being the best leader you possibly can, just to prove him wrong."

Platina's doubt melted away with the teacher's kind words. She gave a confident smile and nodded.

"Thanks, professor." Platina sang cheerfully with her usual gleeful smile. She began to jog passed him, but he suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, Miss Steel, there is something I would like to ask you."

Caught by surprise, Platina turned to him without a word, but gave him an intentive look that told him that she was listening.

"Are you related to one August Steel?" He asked.

"Yeah...he's my dad..." She replied.

"Really?" He asked with a surprised face. "I never really thought of him as a family man. Honestly, I'm surprised he found a woman who would tolerate him." He laughed.

"I'm...actually adopted." She explained as she gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of her head.

"Hmm, I see." He said.

"Wait, how do you know August?" Platina asked as the thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Hmm? You don't know?" He asked as he tilted his head. There was a short silence, as if he wanted to create a moment of suspense. "August was a student here at Haven."

"What?!" Platina asked in a shocked tone. "He never told me that."

"It's the truth; he was the leader of his own team. Professor Luna was actually a member."

Another short silence filled the air between the two. Platina couldn't think of much to say. Hawk was the one who broke the quiet.

"Say, thinking about it now, your weapon…" He paused for just a second, "It's Wisteria's old weapon, isn't it?" His tone took an odd, solemn tone as he finished the question.

Platina stared at him with a puzzled look. "Who's Wisteria?" She asked slowly, obviously confused.

"He...never told you about her?..."

* * *

A gravel path decorated with rocks on either side cut through the grass surrounding the courtyard at the entrance of the school. Other than the crunch of the gravel under their feet, the various birds chirping was the only noise. The distinct smell of the sakura trees filled the air. Since they left the school building, Platina and the professor hadn't said a word to each other.

"When I was your age, I came to this academy and became the leader of Team HAWK." Professor Valenzuela suddenly broke the silence. "Ironic in the naming, I know; a bit like your own team."

Platina didn't bother talking. She just listened to the Faunus as they continued down the path.

"On my team was Professor Myrtle, May's mom; Krystal Vermillion, and a girl named Wisteria." He went on, "After the teams were picked, we met another team, called ALMD. They were a bit older than my team; third years, if I recall. One day, there was an assembly after a lunch period."

As the two began turning with the school, the trees disappeared. All that was left was grassland scattered with purple and pink flowers.

"There was to be a plan to expand the kingdom of Haven to the ground below the cliffs. It was said that certain teams from the school would be selected to clear out an area of woods."

"Shi No Mori." Platina breathed softly.

"Precisely." Hawk confirmed, "Both my team and Team ALMD fought with all our strength…" He took a short pause and looked into the distance, "but Wisteria suffered a fatal injury trying to protect me from a Deathstalker. The leader of ALMD, who just so happened to be Wisteria's brother, blamed me for what happened."

A small fenced area came into view. The path led to an opening in the fence. Platina could see several stone slabs sticking out of the ground in tidy rows, and it became clear what the place was. Hawk led the way into the cemetery and stopped at a grave around the middle of the row closest to the gravel path. Platina followed closely behind him, and as she moved around him the grave came into clear view.

 _Wisteria Steel_

 _17 Years Old_

 _There's always hope for the willing._

"August was her brother." Hawk solemnly finished.

There was yet another short silence between the student and teacher. Platina was in disbelief.

"August always told me he was an only child." Tina informed the Faunus.

"That isn't the case, I'm afraid." Hawk confirmed, "After Wisteria sacrificed herself, he was so grief-stricken that he couldn't bear being a Huntsman any longer. He took her weapon for memory's sake and left the school; never to be seen again by anyone on Team HAWK or ALMD, as far as I know."

He kneeled down and reached for something in his jacket. He slowly pulled out a purple flower and held it in both hands for a moment before gently placing it in front of his former teammate's grave.

"Wisteria flowers were always her favorite because she shared their namesake. I come down here every so often and place one here for her." Hawk explained. He got back up and turned to Platina.

"But…" Platina started, bringing her arm to her chest and looking down, "why would August lie to me about this?" She questioned.

The professor let out a sigh, "Perhaps the memory of her is too painful for him to bring up, but no matter what his reason, it isn't something I know."

There was yet another silence between the two. This one was much longer than the others, though - excluding the walk to the graveyard.

"There is one thing I do know." Hawk finally spoke up. Tina looked up at him. "Not only do you have to live up to the title of 'leader', but you also have the legacy of Wisteria's and August's surname to carry. It seems you have a lot of responsibility ahead of you, Miss Steel, as well as a few expectations to fulfill."

Platina never replied to that. She reached behind her and pulled out one part of her weapon. The handle suddenly had a different feel to it, almost as if it was heavier. It was the same weapon she had used all this time, but there was some new, unknown side of it that she was just seeing for the first time that day.


	9. Charred Black

The forest, Kuchinashi, her parents, darkness, the Grimm, the screaming; it always seemed like such a monotonous nightmare, but it never got any less terrifying. Platina's eyes fluttered open. She sat up against the wall and looked around the room. She was still expecting to see her old bedroom, or maybe August standing around somewhere. She was half-disappointed to be in the dorm.

There was only a little moonlight coming from the two windows to illuminate the room. Platina could make out the outlines of May and Tiffany on their beds. She brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. She was alone late at night once again.

A sudden chill shot through Tina's body. At first, she thought it was just her nerves getting to her, but something danced in her peripheral vision. She turned and saw Lukas sitting in the window next to their beds; his cloak flowing in the wind. He was staring down at his sword.

"Lukas?" She quietly called. Lukas jerked back into reality, glanced back, and sheathed his sword.

"Why are you still up?" She asked.

"You should go back to sleep." He replied as he turned away.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing you should worry about." To her, he seemed keen on staying vague.

"Lukas," Tina began as she tilted her head, "are you sneaking out?"

"Just mind your own business." He commanded.

She pushed herself off her bed and tried to stand tall against Lukas. "Why are you like this?" She asked, trying to keep her voice down. He didn't reply.

"I can understand if you don't like me, but something is clearly up. If you're so upset about me not being a real leader, you have to give me a chance to try. What's going on?"

"Damn it," Lukas scoffed, "you're annoyingly persistent...fine." He reluctantly agreed. He climbed back into the room and walked passed Tina.

"The guy...on the news earlier today..." He started, his back turned to Platina. "I have reason to believe he's here. He's been at large for a while now."

"You know who he is?" She quietly asked.

There was a moment where he stayed silent. Lukas stood still with a hard expression.

"His name is Coal Augite," he said, "my brother."

Platina was shocked, like she just experienced whiplash. She didn't quite know what to say, so she just held her arm and lowered her head.

"After our father died, he...ran away; left me alone. I didn't see him for years. Then I learned what he'd been up to; the things he had done. I-" He stopped and balled his hand into a fist. "I made it my goal to stop him."

There was an awkward silence. Platina shifted her weight as she tried to pick her words.

"Is...that why you became a Huntsman?" She questioned. Lukas nodded without saying anything.

"Why didn't you tell any of us about this?" She asked timidly.

"It doesn't concern any of you." He answered. "This is something I have to do alone."

"Nobody should be alone in something like that." Platina argued.

He shook his head. "You're wrong. It's my own burden to bear."

"You know…" A new voice chimed in from behind. Lukas and Platina turned around.

"I'm all for a tragic backstory," May said as she zipped up her jacket, "but it doesn't give you an excuse for being a jerk."

"And Platina's right," Tiffany said, sitting on her bed and loading a cylinder into her rifle. "You shouldn't have to do this alone."

"Uh, how long have you guys been standing there?" Tina asked.

"Long enough to hear the juicy bits." May answered. "So, are we going to pay Coal a visit tonight?" She threw out a question of her own.

Lukas turned away for a second, then he stared back at the girls with a stern expression. They were all patiently waiting for an answer.

"You three aren't going to let me go alone, are you?" He asked.

"Personally, I think this is a bad idea," Tiffany nervously admitted, "but I'm going if all of you are."

Lukas sighed. "Fine." He finally caved in. "Let's go."

"Alright!" Platina jumped up and cheered. "I'll get ready quick!"

She went into the bathroom and put on her outfit. She returned to the room and snatched Platinum Eclipse off her nightstand. She looked down at it for a second. Professor Valenzuela's words from earlier echoed in her thoughts.

"Are we ready?" Lukas asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Platina nodded.

Lukas pushed himself outside and onto the overhang below. He was closely followed by May, then Tiffany. Platina, after a moment of hesitation, headed out and closed the window.

The team jumped to the ground. After quickly scanning the area, they left the school and started walking down a large flight of stairs that led to the city below. The stairs turned into a short road and soon they found themselves in the City of Mistral.

"So…" Tiffany began, "your brother…"

"He's dangerous." Lukas answered without waiting for a question. "That's something I want you guys to understand before we get to where I think he is."

They jumped over a fence and landed on the rooftop of a building below, then they dropped to the ground and continued their run on a cobblestone road.

"By the way, it'll be a while before we get there." Lukas mentioned. "We're going all the way to the docks."

"Oooo, what's at the docks?" Asked a familiar voice. With a mechanical whir, Reese quickly caught up to them with her hoverboard. Everyone stopped in unison.

"Reese? What are you doing?" Platina asked.

"Well, I was just taking a nighttime ride around when I saw all of you leave the school. I wanted to know what you were all up to." Reese explained.

"Great," Lukas groaned.

"There's a criminal at the docks, according to Lukas." May explained. "We're gonna go catch him."

"Woah, that sounds cool. I want in." Said Reese firmly.

"No." Lukas rejected her. "These three weren't even supposed to come in the first place."

"Ah, too bad," Reese said in a teasing tone, "I'm already interested, so I'm coming with."

"Wouldn't it make it easier if we had a lot of people?" Tiffany asked. "...or maybe just call the authorities." She muttered under her breath.

"I should have tried harder to keep you all out of this." He scoffed. "Follow me."

"Alright!" Reese laughed while bringing her arms up.

Without another word, Lukas headed down the street with the girls close behind. They ran through empty streets, bare plazas, and hollow alleys. After what actually seemed like a short time, they heard the sound of waves crashing against rocks.

"We're almost there." Lukas said in a low voice. He stopped in the middle of an alley. Slowly, he turned the corner of the building.

There was a large metal warehouse that looked totally different from any other building in Haven. It had a metal fence with mesh wire at the top surrounding it. Over the fence, they could see stacks of huge metal containers, most of which were red and blue.

"Come on," Lukas mumbled. He placed his foot on a metal pipe on the wall of the building and pushed off. He pulled himself onto a stack of wooden crates and hopped onto the roof of the building.

Tiffany stepped forward and did the same. Reese slid over to Platina and hoisted her onto the hoverboard. With a quick maneuver of her feet, they were shot into the air and onto the roof. May took out Amber Storm and shot it at the ground; launching herself all the way up to the others.

"Hey, you should think about keeping it down!" Lukas whispered loudly to May. "We don't wanna attract attention to ourselves."

"Don't worry," May laughed, "We'll get in and kick Coal's ass before he knew what hit him."

"It's not going to be that simple." Lukas replied. "He isn't working alone. Those other two in the video from the news...I think he's working in a large group."

"That makes sense." Tiffany agreed. "The story was about two large dust robberies, right? Three people couldn't steal that much dust alone."

"Look," Lukas motioned over to an opening in the fence. Two men in blue clothing holding rifles approached it. They glanced down either side of the street, then they turned around and began walking back to where they came.

Lukas jumped down from the roof and shuffled across the street. He entered the area and silently dashed toward the two men. One of them began to turn around. Lukas vanished from his sight just in time. He reappeared in the air between them. He kicked one of them in the face, knocking him to the ground, then he punched the other one in the back of the head. He kneed that same one in the face then turned around and took the other one by his head. He pushed him against a crate and began shocking him with his wrist gadget.

The other man shook off the last blow dealt to him and pulled out a rapier. He dashed towards Lukas and thrust his sword at him. Two quiet shots rang out and he suddenly couldn't move his feet. He looked down to find that his feet were encased in ice. He tried to yell for help, but before he could, he was tackled to the ground. Lukas drew his sword and thrust it into the concrete, barely grazing the man's head.

"If you know what's good for you, then you'll talk." Lukas whispered to him.

Before anyone knew it, they had the man captured, using the chain of Platina's weapon to tie him up.

"Okay, where's Augite?" Lukas asked him.

"Augite?" He asked.

"Don't play dumb with us, Coal; your boss." Lukas leaned in close.

"Oooh, that guy. Yeah, he's not really our boss." The lackey sounded unimpressed.

"But he's here?" May asked.

"Yeah, he's here." He nodded. "He's near the river over there." He motioned over to his right. Reese and Team PLTM all exchanged a look with each other.

"Y'all mind if I give you guys a piece of advice?" He asked as he looked up to them. "I don't know much about that Coal fella, but...if you fight him, you're probably in for a bad time."

"You don't seem worried." Lukas shot a look at him.

"You don't seem prepared." He retorted.

Platina stepped a little closer to Lukas and May. "What should we do with him?" She asked.

"I think it's obvious." May ambled over to the underling and cracked her knuckles.

"Oh, boy, I knew this was coming." He sighed. With a loud crack, he was knocked unconscious.

Platina untangled her weapon and tucked it back into its sheath. May dragged the unconscious body of the guard behind one of the stacks of metal crates. Lukas began to stride over to the river, which caught Platina's attention. She stared for a second, then she chased after him. Lukas approached a rail and planted a foot on it. He looked down in silence. Tina quietly stepped closer to him.

"So, what's the plan?" She said in a soft tone. As she got closer, she could see what was below them. The railing dropped off to a final level where the dock was, where two Valan airships were grounded. Platina counted at least twenty people wearing the same blue and gold clothing, all doing various jobs.

"We need to get rid of the goons. Fighting Coal while they're around will be impossible." Lukas answered. May, Tiffany, and Reese came up from behind. "Maybe you guys can go clear them out, and when Coal shows his face, I can-" Lukas stopped suddenly.

Two people stepped out from the shadows, both giving off a different energy that separated them from the rest of the crowd. One wore a black robe and had red hair. The other wore a blue robe with blue and gold armor, had long, blue hair, and held a radiant, golden trident in one hand.

"Men," the one with the trident spoke in a clear, deep voice, "it's time to wrap it up. We are done here." He commanded.

The dozens of men began to store large crates into the airships. Lukas gritted his teeth and balanced himself on the rail.

"Change of plan." He growled as he drew his sword. "I'm going in there...and I'm killing him."

The two airships gave an earth-shaking roar of their engines and lifted off the ground.

" _Kill_...hey, wait," Platina began.

Lukas jumped off the rail and landed in between two crates.

"Lukas!" Tina interjected, but Lukas continued forward.

He peered out from behind the crate. His brother and his partner were standing alone in the middle of the area. Using the ships to drown out his own noise, Lukas transformed Uchimitsu into its shuriken form and threw it as hard as he could at the two. The spinning blade cut the air as it flew to its targets.

Coal shoved the man in the blue robe out of the way just as the shuriken flew past the two of them. Uchimitsu plunged itself deep into the side of a metal crate. A second of silence felt like a minute. The two glanced over to where the weapon had been thrown from, but they found nothing.

"Coal!" A booming scream penetrated the air. Lukas was standing tall on his weapon. His black eyes seemed to burn red with hate.

The man in blue swiftly turned to face Lukas. Coal kept his back to him for a moment. He loomed high and slowly turned towards him. Lukas stared deep into his brother's cold, red eyes.

"How many years has it been, Lukas?" Coal had a calm, deep voice. "Six? Seven? And I don't even get a hello?" He reached to his back and drew out a katana handle with no blade.

Lukas grit his teeth so hard that he couldn't find the strength to open his mouth and give an answer.

"Harsh as usual, young brother." Coal sighed.

A gust of wind blew through the area as one of the airships drew closer. A few men leaned out and aimed rifles at Lukas. Coal held a hand up and waved them away. The ship obediently flew in the other direction.

"So then…" Coal began, "you think that you're finally strong enough to stop me?"

Without a reply, Lukas grabbed Uchimitsu and pushed off the crate. While Coal kept his calm demeanor, the other man stepped back and readied his trident. Lukas transformed Uchimitsu into the sword and let out a powerful yell as he readied to go in for a stab. He vanished from Coal's sight and reappeared behind him. Lukas thrust his sword up to Coal's heart, but Coal instantly spun around and blocked it with a red blade that sprung from the hilt he was holding. Coal's partner calmly stepped back and watched the teenager fight Coal. Lukas quickly leaped to his brother's side and swung again, but Coal was quick to react. He tried to force Coal back, but his brother stood his ground as if he were a mountain. Lukas used his semblance to blitz around his brother; attacking from all angles and aggressively taking charge in the fight. Coal reacted faster than lightning and knocked Lukas' sword away; leaving him open for an attack. Coal delivered a powerful kick to Lukas' stomach and forced him to the ground.

With a mechanical hum, Reese was suddenly on the assault. She spun her board around, trying to slash at Coal with the blades, but he sidestepped it effortlessly and retaliated with his sword. Reese ducked underneath his attack and retreated back to Lukas. Tina ran next to the two and extended her two kusarigama. Two loud shots reverberated through the air. May darted in front of the tree of them and advanced to Coal. She swung Amber Storm at him with all her might. Coal, without flinching, stepped around the attack. She blew past him and ended up on the opposite side of the other three. Every player on the battlefield stayed frozen in a six-way standoff.

"Lazurite." Coal spoke up. His partner turned his head towards him. "Take care of her." He motioned over to May.

Lazurite nodded in agreement and turned toward the Huntress in front of him. He spun his trident around and slammed it into the ground. May widened her stance and created a small wall of flames behind her.

"Interesting…" Lazurite mumbled as he peered at the pink-haired girl.

Lukas dashed forward and threw a knife at Coal. Coal caught it by the blade and swiftly threw it back. Lukas spun in the air and dodged his knife, then he transformed Uchimitsu and hurled it at his brother. As soon as he did, Lukas teleported in front of Coal. He raised his leg in the air and kicked Coal in the face and swiftly followed it up with a punch to the chest. Lukas backflipped and his weapon soared under him. Coal regained his footing caught Uchimitsu without so much as flinching. Platina began to sprint towards the fight ahead of her. Lukas engaged Coal again, only to be met with another kick to the stomach. Lukas flew into Tina, knocking them both down.

"Watch it!" Lukas interjected.

"What? You ran into me! You watch it." She replied angrily.

"You're in the way." Lukas shot back. Suddenly, Lukas' weapon slashed through the air and hit both Platina and Lukas, knocking them both to the ground.

May rushed forward and swung her axe at Lazurite, who deflected the strike with his trident. May pressed on and slashed him across his chest. Lazurite ducked under another attack, then May thrust Amber Storm downwards. Her enemy redirected the attack and retaliated with the handle of his weapon. He thrust his trident into her chest, sending May onto her back on the ground. Just as he did, a shot whizzed through the air and hit Lazurite's arm. He turned to where the shot came from, but saw nothing. A brilliant light in front of him recaptured his attention.

May confidently stepped forward, and from her boot came a stream of scorching flames. A sudden explosion of steam appeared right before they managed to reach him. May hesitated in surprise. The steam slowly began to disappear, and through it, she could see a wall of water where Lazurite once stood. The wall parted and Lazurite casually walked through, giving May a cold stare. May sent back a piercing look and lit her arms on fire.

Lukas, Platina, and Reese took turns making futile attacks against Coal. Lukas would swiftly slash and teleport around him, but he always seemed to stay one step ahead of Lukas. Tina flanked around Coal and spun her weapon in a large circle. Coal ducked under the attack and it hit Lukas instead.

"Agh!" He grunted, holding the side of his head. "Could you watch it!?" He yelled.

Coal swiftly dashed toward Platina and punched her in the face then slashed her down her torso. He maneuvered around her and kicked her in the head; sending her to the ground at Lukas' feet. She stood and steadied herself, then she and Lukas both ran at Coal. Tina prepared her kusarigama for a slash, and Lukas reached out to Coal with his left-hand open. Lukas activated his wrist device and it began glowing deep red. Coal dodged out of the way and hit Lukas' hand away. Platina was hit with the massive explosion that was meant for Coal, flew through the air with a pained yell, and landed hard on the ground.

"Tina!" Reese called. She hurried over to her as fast as she could and slid on her knees next to her.

May relentlessly attacked Lazurite, but for as hard as she tried, Lazurite seemed equally skilled in defending himself. He expertly blocked May's attacks with his trident. Whenever she tried to use her flames, he would counter it with the water that he controlled just as well. The two danced gracefully as they battled each other. May swung her axe in circles, and Lazurite deflected the blow by doing the same; knocking her weapon aside and leaving May wide open. He thrusted his weapon into her again. Lazurite heard a few gunshots to his right, which he narrowly dodged.

He transformed his trident into a rifle and began firing back at where the shots came from. Tiffany sprinted out of her cover and moved behind another crate. She popped out and began firing a volley of shots with her pistol. A great wave pushed onto the land and formed a protective shield around him; blocking the shots.

May shot forward and delivered a powerful blow to Lazurite's jaw, which sent him crashing into the wall of water behind him. He motionlessly floated for a short second. An intense wave came forward and crashed into May. The force of the wave pinned her to the ground and threw Amber Storm away from her. May struggled to fight against the rushing water, but the current was too strong. She felt the crushing weight on her suddenly lift. The cool touch of air surrounded her as the water retreated. She pushed herself to her knees, spitting out water and struggling to breathe the salty air.

Lazurite calmly stepped forward while giving May a hard stare. He raised his hand, and a stream of water swept up his trident and brought it above his head. May helplessly glanced up to Lazurite as she panted for breath. Lazurite let his hand fall, and the trident silently cut through the air.

The brothers' exchange of blades rang through the air like a chime. Coal knocked away any attacks thrown at him without so much as breaking a sweat. He cut through Lukas' defenses with ease. He knocked away his brother's weapon and cut him down his chest. Lukas tried to strike back, but his attack was deflected again. Coal raised his leg and kicked him to the ground.

Soft, slow footsteps seemed to echo in the air as Coal stepped forward. He let his blade drag along the ground, which let a soft but high-pitched screech accompany his footsteps.

" _You_ won't defeat me, brother." Coal affirmed with a hard stare. Lukas tightened his fist around Uchimitsu. His body cracked in a white glow.

"That is simply how destiny wills it." Coal raised his blood-red blade and let it fall to Lukas.

A metallic clang pierced the air, leaving only silence in the wake. A tall figure stood in between Lukas and Coal, holding back the attack.

"Valenzuela." Coal groaned.

The ground in front of May rumbled and exploded in a flash of pink. A gigantic forest of pink, sharp crystals erupted from the ground and collided with Lazurite's devastating semblance. May took in a gasp of surprise.

 _"No...There's no way…"_ She thought. She quickly turned around. Behind her, Professor Myrtle was crouched low with a single hand on the ground.

"You alright, kid?" He asked.

Above the crystals, Lazurite rose up on a platform of water.

"That's - that's impossible!" He clammored with his words, eyes wide with bewilderment.

Arsenic confidently stood up and glared up at the man staring down at him. He reached behind him pulled a silver rifle out, and aimed it up to Lazurite.

Professor Valenzuela locked eyes with the criminal in front of him. He pushed him back and quickly slashed at him twice. Coal knocked the attacks away from him. Hawk thrusted his katana forward, and Coal just managed to block it in time. Hawk stabbed again so quickly that Coal could barely react. Coal was thrown away from Hawk and the students. Coal skidded on the ground and stood tall when he stopped. Lazurite floated over on a stream of water and stepped onto the ground next to him. Hawk and Arsenic dashed in between the criminals and the group of students and readied their weapons. The four-way standoff made the air at the docks stiff and heavy with tension.

"It's time for us to make our leave, Lazurite." Coal said. He lowered his weapon and the blade folded back into the hilt.

Lazurite slammed the hilt of his trident into the ground, and the river churned and roared in response. A large amount of water crept onto the land and circled around the two - forming an orb. It lifted them off the ground and began dragging them out to sea.

"No!" Lukas suddenly yelled. He jumped out and threw a knife from his sleeve. Just before it reached his brother, a stream of water jumped out and caught it. It flicked the knife back at Lukas. He stopped and caught it with his free hand. Coal and Lazurite sunk into the water, leaving only a few air bubbles in their wake.

Lukas stumbled forward. He loosened his grip on his sword and let it drop to the ground. He fell to his knees and clutched his jacket wear his heart was.

"Damn it...DAMN IT!" He screamed.

Professor Myrtle waltzed over to Professor Valenzuela.

"What do you think, Hawk?" He asked.

"It seems that we weren't the only ones thinking about the docks. As for them, I suspect they'll be punished."

"Yeah, I think you're right." Arsenic sighed.

"Hey, Professor." A voice called from behind. They both turned around to see May storming toward them.

"Seems like she's talking to you." Hawk whispered as he quickly slipped away.

"You're semblance just now," She started with a cold stare, "just who the hell are you?"

"You're May, right?" Arsenic asked back. "Why don't you come with me real quick?"

May reluctantly followed Arsenic away from everyone else.

Platina and Reese walked up to Professor Valenzuela. Lukas pushed himself onto his feet and turned to face the Faunus. Hawk slowly shifted a blank gaze in between the three of them.

* * *

"What was _that_?!" Lukas growled.

"What do you mean?!" Platina squeaked.

"I mean you were a detriment to the mission." Lukas coldly stated.

"Me?! You...you blew me up!" She argued.

May was sprawled out on her bed. She let out an exasperated sigh and tossed around. Tiffany paced back and forth by her bed.

"You were in my way the entire fight. If it weren't for you, I could've had him!" He spat back.

"Lukas...I know that your brother's a bad person, but _killing_ him? We can't just do that." She spoke in a soft, sorrowful tone.

"He's too dangerous to live." His words held no emotion.

"Nobody deserves to die!" She cried.

"You're naive." He said in a low voice.

"You don't know me." Tina growled as she balled a fist. "Lukas, I-"

"You don't understand!" Lukas stepped forward and flashed a menacing glare, puffing out his chest as he did so.

"Okay, that's enough!" Tiffany stepped in between Tina and Lukas. "This is childish. We should discuss this in the morning when we all calm down."

Lukas swiftly turned and stomped towards the door. He swung it open and stepped out.

"Where are you going?" Tiffany called.

"To clear my head." He said as he closed the door.

Platina let out a sigh and fell back on her butt.

"Hey," Tiffany said softly as she reached a hand to her, "it's late. We should get some sleep."

As Lukas marched through the hallway alone, he reminisced on the night. He stopped and stared at a glass case. He saw Coal's reflection glaring back at him. He shook his head and continued his way. He thought back to just a little bit ago.

 _"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will have consequences." Professor Lionheart said as he paced back and forth._

 _Reese, Tiffany, May, Platina, and Lukas all sat in front of a large mahogany desk, all avoiding eye contact with the Headmaster._

 _"If any of you were to be seriously injured, the faculty could be held liable. It is integral that behavior like this should be dealt with." He continued as he sat down. "Ms. Chloris,"_

 _Reese perked her head up._

 _"You'll have two days detention in Professor Luna's room, starting tomorrow."_

 _She quietly breathed a sigh of relief._

 _"As for Team PLTM, I'm restricting you to your dorms for four days. You will not be able to participate in activities after school." He finished._

 _"What?!" Platina shot up with a distressed tone. "You mean we won't be able to leave our room?"_

 _"I'm afraid so, Ms. Steel. Actions have consequences." He coldly stated._

 _"But...but...I'll get no fresh air...no shopping...my social life is going to fall apart...I'm gonna be totally isolated…" Platina began muttering to herself as she slouched back in her chair._

 _"You are all dismissed. Please get some rest." Lionheart finally sent them away. One by one, they all filed out of the room._

 _"Uh, Mr. Augite, could you stay here just a little while longer?" The Professor called to Lukas. He stopped as soon as he got out of his seat. Platina closed the door behind her._

 _"As far as I can see, you're the whole reason you're team went out tonight." The Headmaster started._

 _Lukas slumped back down into the chair._

 _"So I thought I should tell you that I think you're actions are exactly what a Huntsman's should have been - recognizing a threat and dealing with it accordingly. Just try to let us adults handle it next time. It would be terrible if anyone was to be hurt." He took a short pause and peered at Lukas. "As they say: 'curiosity killed the cat'..."_

 _Lukas gave him a hard stare back. "Is that all then?" He asked._

 _"Actually, Mr. Augite, there is one thing I would like to ask you_. _" Lionheart said. "I want to make sure every student is adjusting well here. Are you fitting in? What do you think of your teammates?"_

 _Lukas closed his eyes and tilted his head. "Tiffany is fine." He said, "She knows her place and doesn't try to get into other people's business. May is hot-headed, but I can respect her because she's strong. As for Platina…" He stopped for a second and opened his eyes, "I don't like her. She's annoying, happy-go-lucky, and nosy."_

 _"I see." Professor Lionheart mumbled. "Thank you for your time. You are excused."_

* * *

Platina strained her eyes as she squinted at the piece of paper that was only lit by the candle at the desk. It's been a few hours and she hasn't been able to sleep yet. She clicked the pen and pressed it against the paper.

 _"Hi August,_

 _It's been about two weeks since school started. Classes are going well so far, and the teachers all seem nice. I'm actually fitting in, and I've made a few friends. It turns out that Reese is going here too, so I'm really happy about that. She's on a different team though. You'll never believe it, but I'm actually the leader of my team! It's me, two other girls named May and Tiffany, and a guy named Lukas. Together we're Team PLTM!"_

Platina thought about all the things she could write about. She had so many urges to tell him about Coal and the docks, about Wisteria and how she knows about him being a student here. Her hand froze on the page for a while before she found the strength to keep writing.

 _"May is really fun to be around. She's nice and funny, plus she's really strong! Tiffany's a bit reserved, but she's also nice. Lukas is a total jerk, though. I'm having a really tough time with him, and he doesn't want anything to do with us. I don't know what to do about him._

 _I hope everything is going better over there. I hope you find a job soon if you haven't already. Please write me back as soon as you can...I miss you._

 _Love, Platina."_


	10. All Things Considered

"You'll never beat me May!" Platina screamed at the top of her lungs, tenacity blazing in her eyes.

"You're wrong! This is over!" May yelled back.

"Game!" Declared the announcer in his booming voice. "The winner is...Platina!"

"Yes!" Tina jumped up excitedly.

"Gaaah…" May groaned and let her body fall to the table. "I always think I'm great at this game, 'till I play with another person."

"Don't feel too bad, I'm the best at Super Clash Brothers." Platina beamed a gleeful smile.

"You guys haven't even touched your food yet." Bolin pointed out through a mouth stuffed full of his own food.

"Some things are more important than eating, dummy." Arslan sighed as she flipped her scroll open. "I call playing next winner."

May, Bolin, Platina, and Arslan sat at their usual lunch table, all of them laughing and talking cheerfully with each other. A day has passed since Team PLTM fought Coal Augite. Lukas and Platina haven't talked since that night.

"Hey, guys," Nadir greeted them as he set his tray down. He looked around the table. "Where's Reese?" He asked.

"Well, you know that Vytal Festival in Vale that's coming up soon? She's training for that." Bolin answered. "Thought it was kinda weird she'd skip lunch for that, but maybe she's onto something, because honestly, we should be doing the same."

"Oh, come on, we're like, the best of the best." Arslan boasted.

"Hey, just cause you're ranked third in the sparring class, doesn't give you a right to brag." Her friend shot her an annoyed look.

"God, someday I'll beat you May." She said, ignoring Bolin's comment.

"Yeah, keep dreaming." May laughed.

"The winner is...Platina!"

"Yes! Hehe…" Tina giggled as she kicked her legs and hugged her scroll. May slouched over and began pouting.

"Speaking of the Vytal Festival, did you hear that guy from Team SSSN snuck onto a boat to Vale?" Bolin added.

"Are you serious?" Nadir asked as he stuffed his mouth with noodles.

"Yeah, lots of crazy stuff happening at school recently." He continued. "Like that thing that happened with you guys and Lukas. What was with that?"

Tina and May exchanged a look of uncertainty with each other. "Well, it's hard to explain," May admitted.

"Lukas...has had it rough." Platina continued. "May and I are trying to see things from his point of view, but..."

"It's a little difficult when he doesn't want much to do with us." May finished.

Arslan rested her head on her hand. "Well, if that's his choice; that's his choice. The most you guys can do is wait for him to come to you when he's ready."

"If nothing else, at least you three all get along. Reese keeps making a mess of our room, Arslan is practically gassing the room with all her sage; not to mention she established a quiet time for her meditation, and to top it all off - Nadir won't man up and help me get them to stop." Bolin pointed out as he took a piece of sushi and bit into it.

"Three...wait, where's Tiffany?" Platina glanced up from her scroll and asked. Everyone looked around the table as they realized she hadn't shown up yet.

"I don't know…" Answered May.

* * *

Tiffany gently opened the door to the library and stepped inside. She felt small compared to the size of the massive room. Tall bookshelves that were at least twice her height lined the walls. A group of desks with computers were neatly tucked away together in the back of the room. She began striding towards them. Her soft footsteps echoed through the empty room that seemed void of life.

Lukas sat hunched over a computer screen with a journal open next to him. He didn't hear Tiffany glide behind him. He clicked a link and his computer went blank for a second. He stared at the white screen, and a pair of soft, emerald eyes stared back.

"Yes?" He gave her an uninterested glance.

"How are you?" She asked, holding her arm and avoiding eye contact.

"Frustrated." He answered, "Why?"

"I want to help." She replied. " _We_ want to help."

Lukas spun around in the chair and glared at her. His gaze pierced her eyes and made her freeze up.

"You and the others just need to stay out of it. I don't need you or your help." He coldly brushed her off. His focus shifted back to the monitor.

"I know that you think I don't get it." Tiffany spoke softly. "The pampered rich kid wouldn't know anything...and you'd be right thinking that. Growing up as I did was easy; no problems or hardships." She pulled out a chair and sat down.

"But I understand that it's not like that for everybody. Not everyone's life is so care-free." She continued, "Look, I believe that you can catch Coal. You're strong...but together we can do it faster; if you would just let us help."

A still silence fell over the two teammates. Lukas closed his eyes and shook his head.

"There isn't anything you can gain from it."

"That's not what matters. I became a Huntress for a reason. I want to help people." Her eyes connected with his and she managed a smile. "Especially my friends."

Lukas bit his thumb as he began thinking. Tiffany felt as though she could see right through him. He turned his monitor towards Tiffany. The screen displayed a map of the continent with four red X's that marked various locations.

"These are crime scenes that I believe are linked to Coal, one way or another." He explained. "They're all robberies of some sort, be it Dust or Lien or weapons. He's stockpiling...I have a really bad feeling about it all."

"So, you think he's plotting something?" She tilted her head.

"Maybe…" He trailed off. "None of the marks stray too far from Haven. I wanted to go into the city and see if I could find out if he's set up somewhere there or...something." He wiped his eye with the back of his hand.

The school bell went off outside the library. Tiffany turned to head out, but stopped after just a few strides. A quick glance back revealed that Lukas was still sitting at the computer screen.

She sighed and approached him again. "Hey," she captured his attention, and in her bossy voice she said, "we should get to class."

"You can go on ahead," he said, "I'll catch-"

"I am _not_ going anywhere without you," She sharply cut him off, "so you'd best come on." She placed her hands on her hips and flared her shoulders with a prissy attitude.

"Alright," he sighed and turned off the computer, "you win." He got up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He stood unmoving for a second, then he closed his eyes and began marching out of the library. Tiffany quickly followed behind him. For a while, they walked in silence. The other students in the halls bustled past the two as they headed for class.

"My brother isn't an ordinary enemy." Lukas spoke up. "It's not like we're just fighting some student or a random robber. He's…" He stopped and brought a hand to his mouth to yawn. "Sorry. He's more skilled with a sword than I am. He's incredibly smart, and he can somehow keep up with my semblance. He's-"

"Listen, Lukas, I really don't want to hear you complaining anymore - no offense." Tiffany shrugged off his comments. "You won't change our minds." They began to approach the classroom.

"It's just-"

" _Lukas_ , don't worry." She repeated as she turned to him. She reached out to him, and Lukas tensed up in response. He felt as though he had to step away, but Tiffany placed her hand on his shoulder. Her hand was soft, and when he looked at her face, he found that she had a sincere, caring expression. He felt his body naturally relax.

"We're ready to shoulder your burdens."

She turned and left him where he stood. He watched her enter the classroom without a word. He looked down for a second, sighed, and waltzed to the door. Another student approached the door at the same time he did and held the door open. He looked at him for a second. Short stature, darker skin, pink hair that was shaved at the sides. He seemed familiar, but he struggled for a name.

As Lukas passed and entered the room, he threw a louring glance Nadir's way. Though it only lasted for just a second, Nadir felt he was meant to see it and put his head down in response.

"I wouldn't worry about him." Arslan came up from behind and placed a hand on Nadir's shoulder.

"I keep telling myself that too," he replied, "but it's a little discouraging that he's so much farther ahead than me."

"You'll get there, big guy." Arslan reassured him as she patted his back. "Come on, before we're late."

The bell rang mere seconds after they entered. Arslan led him through Professor Luna's room and they both scooted passed Team PLTM to take their seats next to Bolin. Right away, Nadir noticed an empty seat between Platina and himself, where Reese would normally sit.

" _She's late."_ He thought to himself, " _I wonder what she's doing? Eh, she'll be here soon."_ He figured.

As the class went on, the empty space seemed to grow larger and larger and Reese's absence began to bother him more and more.

" _Hey, where are you?"_ He texted her on his Scroll under his desk. He waited the entire class period, but he didn't receive a reply. Before he knew it, the class was over. Bolin, Arslan, and Nadir left the room and began to go to their next class.

Arslan, who was leading the way, sighed and turned to face the two boys. "Have either of you guys seen Reese?"

"I was wondering where she was, but I haven't heard from her since before lunch." Nadir answered.

"Maybe...she's still training for the Vytal Festival?" Bolin suggested.

"She shouldn't be skipping class for that. Nadir," Arslan snapped her attention to Nadir, "go grab Reese for me, will ya?"

"Huh? Why do I have to do it?" He questioned.

"Uh, because I'm the leader." Arslan raised an eyebrow. "Which means what I say goes. So as an executive order, I command you to go get Reese." She said in an almost teasing tone.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Nadir caved in despairingly.

"She was in the gym, last I checked." Bolin grabbed him by the shoulder suddenly. "You'll learn really quickly that you can't win with her." He whispered. He approached Arslan and gave a short wave to Nadir.

"We'll cover for you, okay?" Arslan turned and marched to the next class.

Left behind, Nadir let out an exasperated sigh. " _The gym, huh?"_ He thought to himself. He turned and marched to the other side of the room. He turned to his left and went down the hallway. He looked at a case full of awards with banners on either side of it as he walked. The banners had Haven's symbol on them. A sudden thought came to his mind. He pulled out his scroll and opened up his text messages. At the top, above his mom and dad, was an unread message from Akhar Shiko. He tapped on it to open it up.

" _Don't let me down, little bro. Getting you in there wasn't easy, so you better make mom and dad proud."_ It read.

He smiled and began to reply. " _Don't worry, I will. See ya later."_ He sent.

He looked up and realized he was already at the entrance of the gym. He put away his scroll and pushed open the door. The gym was a large room with a tan floor and white walls with a large Haven banner at the end of it. There was a grunting sound that faintly resounded through the room. He gazed across the way and saw Reese. She was zipping in between three humanoid figures that surrounded her.

She threw her hoverboard out from under her feet at one of the dummies. She turned and kicked off of another dummy and into the air. Her board spun around and came back to her, and she transformed it into the dual pistols and lit up the third dummy with a flurry of dust. She landed on one knee with her head low.

Nadir approached the green-haired girl in an almost cautious manner. As he drew nearer, he noticed that she was sweating and breathing hard.

"Hey," he started. Reese looked up at him through her hair. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah…" she panted, "yeah, kinda." She fell on her butt and held herself up.

"You know you missed class, right?" Nadir asked. He sat down and crossed his legs.

"Did I…? I didn't even notice…" She managed through heavy breaths and wiped her brow. She groaned and lied down.

"So, um…" Nadir scratched his head as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. "What's up?" He gave up on saying anything complicated.

"Oh, not much. Just training, ya know."

"Yeah, well uh...why?" He asked. "Don't you think you're pushing it a little?"

Reese sighed and sat back up. "If I don't push myself I can't get stronger, can I?"

Nadir nodded silently. He guessed that he hadn't expected any real big reason.

"Back at the docks...Tina got hurt." She continued. She had a flashback to when Lukas' explosion was redirected to Platina. "I didn't do a whole lot back then, so if I'm being honest, I'm kinda feeling like a loser." She finished and looked away from Nadir.

Nadir nodded again. "Yeah, I definitely understand that."

Reese chuckled, "I figured you'd say something like that."

"Ouch." Nadir pretended he was hurt. He paused for a moment. "When I was growing up, I looked up to someone as a role model. My brother was a great fighter, and my family always praised him. I...wasn't my brother, but my family always held me up to his standards. It was taxing; sometimes physically, but mostly mentally."

"Well, uh, that sounds like that sucked." Reese muttered.

"My brother always pushed me the hardest, but not in a bad way. He wanted me to be better than he was, but he had natural talent. I couldn't unlock my semblance before applications were due. I seemed like I never advanced in my fighting skills." He looked down at his blank scroll for an awkwardly long time.

"He never gave up on me though. He had my future here all planned out, and he did everything in his power to get me here."

After another moment of silence, Reese chimed in. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"Um...I...don't really know." He laughed. "I feel like I had a point. I guess that what I'm trying to say is that…if you ever need someone, I'll be there."

The two exchanged stares for a moment. Suddenly, Reese let a snort escape her, and soon it became a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Nadir asked with a little dismay in his voice.

"Ah, nothing," Reese placed a hand on her knee and pushed herself up. "I just think it's kinda cute how you're trying to confort me."

She looked away, and for a while it seemed like she was lost in a sea of thought. The smile faded from her face.

"I've been in some tough situations, so I don't give up so easily. I'll bounce back; just like I always do." She walked past Nadir and started heading for the door. He bowed his head and let out a sigh that felt like a sigh of defeat.

"Still..." Reese stopped for a second and gave her teammate a fleeting glance and a curved, warm smile. "Thank you."

* * *

Lukas walked the empty hall that led to his dorm alone; just as always. He had taken a blade out of his wrist device and was tossing it in the air and catching it again.

"Lukas!" He heard a voice behind him and stopped playing with the knife. He turned around to see his Tiffany jogging towards him.

"Did you think about what I said?" She asked when she caught up.

"Yeah, I did." He answered as he shoved the knife back in its socket. "And I guess you're right. All things considered, I think it's our best shot."

"Alright then," Tiffany flashed him a bright smile, "we're all in this together." The two of them continued down the hall in silence.

"Tiffany." Lukas spoke up. Tiffany hummed in response.

"What changed your mind?" He asked.

"Huh?" Tiffany replied.

"You weren't so confident a few nights ago. You're adamant about it now, even after you saw what Coal and the man he called 'Lazurite' can do." Lukas shifted his gaze and analyzed Tiffany for a second. "Why?"

"It wasn't me." She smiled to herself.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Everything that I told you today...about working together and shouldering your burdens...it all came from Platina." She smiled. "She said it all at lunch yesterday. She feels bad about the whole thing, and she wants to make it up to you." She finished and looked up to Lukas.

"Platina, huh…" Lukas sighed.

"That girl...she seems shy and maybe a bit childish at first, but once you get to know her, you start to see that under all of that she has resolve." Tiffany held a certain softness in her voice as she described Tina.

"You should stop writing her off." She snapped at him as they approached their dorm. "If we want to do this, we _all_ have to work together." As she placed her hand on the door, she could hear voices from the inside. Curious, she opened the door and popped her head into the room.

"Take me high and I'll sing, oh you make everything okay, okay, okay!" Platina sang her heart out into a microphone. She had her eyes closed, and it seemed like she blocking out everything around her. May was next to her wailing on a drum set and thrashing her head around; making a mess of her hair.

"Kay, okay, okay!" May echoed, even though she didn't have a microphone.

Lukas and Tiffany entered the room to see that the other two were playing Rock Legends 2 on the TV. The top left of the screen revealed they were performing a song called "Demons" by Sunset to a crowd of virtual people, and that May was just ahead of Tina in points.

"We are one in the same, oh you take all of the pain away, away, away!" Platina tried her best to earn more points than May.

"Way, away, away!" May echoed Tina's lines again.

Lukas shot Tiffany a quizzical look. "I'm not entirely convinced you're right."

Tiffany just gave an awkward smile, shrugged, and said: "I think you'll just have to trust me."

"Save me if I become my demons!" Platina finished in one powerful line, then she finally opened her eyes to see the final score.

"Yes!" May jumped up. "In your face, Tina!" She yelled as she pointed a drumstick at her with a victorious smile.

Platina dropped to her knees and dramatically bellowed "Noooooo!"

"Ah, well, Platina," Tiffany started as she approached her, "There's a test in Grimm Studies tomorrow, and you haven't studied a day since you've been here."

Platina shot up and placed a hand behind her head. "Oh, well, you see I-I left my book in Professor Myrtle's room...haha, oh well..."

Tiffany gave a short laugh, "I know." She pulled a textbook from the bottom of her stack of school supplies she was carrying and displayed it to her. "That's why I took the liberty of grabbing it for you."

"Oh, wow, would you look at that…" Platina nervously laughed, switching glances between her teammates. "W-what about May? She hasn't studied either!"

May spun the drumstick in her hand and pointed it at Tina again. "Don't just throw me under the bus!"

Tiffany shot Platina a smile that almost seemed sinister. Platina dropped to her hands and knees, and with a single tear in her eye pleaded, "Please don't make me."


End file.
